


Into Darkness

by Novachaser



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - MAMA (EXO Music Video), Alternate Universe - Power (EXO Music Video), Angst, Fluff, more tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-03-14 09:03:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Novachaser/pseuds/Novachaser
Summary: It's been a few years since anything horrible has happened, the Red Force has seemed to disappear. Luhan's visions, however, continue to get worse. What will the future hold in store for Exoplanet?





	1. As It Begins (M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains violence

I.  
Luhan

The day the force of red returns and its true self is revealed, a secret organization shall bring an age of pain. Luhan woke up with a gasp, his visions have been getting worse as time goes on. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he looked at the clock. 

"Five am…" He groaned.

Luhan fell back on to his bed and placed his hands over his eyes. This was going to be a long day. 

"Appa!" He jolted up when he heard a small voice yell out from a couple rooms away. 

He quickly got up and ran over to the room where the small voice came from. He looked at the small child sadly, if his visions were getting worse, he could only imagine how frightening it must be for her. 

"Yinnie, did you have a nightmare again." He leaned against the doorway. 

The little girl sniffled and lifted her arms toward Luhan and he knew what she wanted. He walked over to the Yin and lifted her up from her bed. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and placed her head under his chin. He held her tightly and walked to the living room. Sitting down on the couch she adjusted to make herself comfortable while Luhan rubbed small circles on her back. She started to calm down, Luhan hummed softly to her, hoping it leads her to happier dreams this time. 

Luhan kissed the top of her head and held her, he remembered the day he first met little Yin. She was three years old, the Elders couldn't help her control her abilities. The Elder that took care of Luhan when he was an apprentice met the end of his days when Yin was born. In the world of Exoplanet, when a small child is "born" with special abilities the Tree of Life marks them as guardians. The guardians take these children to a special place to help them control their powers, for the safety of everyone. When the apprentice surpasses the guardian, they take over the mantle and the Guardian becomes an Elder.  
When the next "apprentice" is born the Elder finds peace in giving their life to the Tree of Life and become a part of the place they were "born" from. Luhan was sad when his father figure disappeared in a golden haze and returned to his first home. This sadness didn't last long when he realized he was going to find his apprentice. Forming a bond with the apprentice helps their abilities to grow and it keeps them strong mentally. Luhan remembers being in a meeting with his fellow brothers when the Elder symbol appeared in the middle of the room, demanding his presence.  
He quickly left after Junmyeon ended the meeting to the Elder Hall. Upon his arrival, he saw one of the Elders playing with a little girl. The Elder looked up and saw Luhan when they heard the door close. The Elder smiled and picked up the little girl and walked over to Luhan. 

"Hello Young One." The Elder bowed slightly to Luhan, who bowed back. 

The Elder looked at the little girl, who was looking at the new person in the room curiously. She wore a cute little silver dress and had long black hair. In her hair, she had a small hair clip in the shape of his symbol. 

"Luhan, meet LuYin." The Elder held out little LuYin to Luhan. 

Luhan gently held LuYin and smiled at her sweetly. LuYin held out her little hands and touched Luhan's face. He pulled out his necklace give her something to play with, the necklace itself was unbreakable. His pendant started to glow when she touched it, the pin in her hair also started to glow. 

Luhan smiled at the memory, she moved slightly, making him look down. It's been a few years since then. LuYin was now seven years old, their father-daughter bond was still as stronger as ever. Unfortunately, being his apprentices means she must suffer through visions at night like he does. The visions lately have been quite cruel. Luhan frowned, he needed to tell Junmyeon the next time they have a meeting.  
He looked around the living room, their home was currently silver. It was all an allusion, Luhan went to Jongdae and asked him to create a device that would change the color of everything in the house to any shade her little heart desires. Luhan gave it to her for her fifth birthday, she absolutely loved it. Luhan thanked Jongdae for making him the perfect gift. For her sixth birthday, he managed to get all her Uncles and fellow Apprentices all together for a party at home. Luhan smirked, he knew exactly what he wanted to get her. Recently she has been very interested in other planets, especially Earth.  
Luhan and his fellow Guardians spent time on Earth a long time ago. They hid from the Red Force on Earth. They decided to poke fun at the Red Force and hid in the spotlight, they were a singing group for South Korea for a long time. They made their music videos with their story and their lyrics from their hearts. They were very successful for their humbleness and creativity.  
While they were there a lot of their fans mentioned Luhan looked like a creature on Earth, called a deer. He didn't see it but decided to allow them to continue saying so. Throughout the years he got multiple stuffed animals in the shape of male, female, and baby deer. Unfortunately, when the red force came for them, they had to leave quickly. He didn't have time to grab anything, other than his friends.  
LuYin constantly asked for stories of Earth, especially the deer creature. She loved the idea of a deer roaming around, here on Exoplanet most animals are used for farming instead of being pets. This year the planets align, it's the only time Jongin can move between the worlds and back. Luhan is going to ask Jongin to bring back a fawn from Earth. He knew she would love it. Speaking honestly, he spoiled her, but it never changed how modest she was. She had a golden heart, Luhan was proud of the way she was turning out to be. Luhan looked at the clock and noticed a few hours had passed. 

"Yinnie~ It's time to wake up." He whispered softly. 

Yin slowly opened her eyes and looked at Luhan tiredly. 

"Appa…" Yin whined.

"Oh no, you're not getting me with those little eyes of yours." Luhan laughed and shook his head.

"Are we meeting with Uncle Jongdae today?" Yin pouted. 

Luhan laughed and stood up, he sent her down and smiled at her. 

"Only if you get dressed quickly," Luhan demanded jokingly. 

Yin sped off to her room, he could hear her throwing things around, looking for the perfect outfit. Even at a young age, she loved fashion, and wouldn't go anywhere without the perfect outfit. Luhan walked over to the kitchen and started to make a nice breakfast for the two of them. He had a strict "no powers in the house" policy, after an incident last year. Yin wanted to make breakfast for him and caught the house on fire. Yin ran into the kitchen and sat at the table. 

"Good Morning Appa~" She said sweetly. 

"Good Morning Yinnie." He smiled at Yin. 

Luhan sat at the table and looked at her sternly. 

"Now, I know you want to go see Uncle Jongdae, but that does not mean you eat as fast as you can." Luhan pointed at her food and waited for her response. 

Yin nodded at her father's words and smiled at him. After breakfast, he told her to go brush her teeth and they would be off. It only took her about five minutes. Luhan grabbed Yin's hand and his portwatch and turned the dials to Jongdae's sector: Cerauno. 

It took a few seconds of white noise before the two looked around. Cerauno was a beautiful place, the streets of Cerauno are golden. Each sector of Exoplanet has different colored streets. Gold is the color of the Thunder Guardian. Jongdae loved it, he loved how shiny everything was and how nice all the people of Cerauno were. Jongdae uses his time being an inventor. He loves creating things for his citizens. Yin let go of Luhan's hand and ran toward Jongdae's house. Luhan chuckled to himself and followed her. Yin ran up to the front door and knocked on it. The door opened and Jongdae poked his head out.

"Yinnie!" Jongdae yelled out. 

Jongdae shot forward and lift Yin into the air. She laughed happily and hugged him tightly. 

"Uncle Jongdae!" Yin squeaked excitedly. 

Jongdae placed Yin on his hip and looked to the approaching Luhan. 

"Hello, Jongdae." Luhan smiled at the younger Guardian. 

"Hello, Luhan." Jongdae smiled brightly. 

Jongdae quickly ushered Luhan into his house with Yin still on his hip. 

"What brings you over?" Jongdae lead Luhan to the living room and sat down on the couch.

Yin, still on Jongdae's hip, poked at his cheeks and laughed when Jongdae made a funny face toward her direction. 

"I'm not sure why, but Yin seems to enjoy your presence." Luhan joked. 

"It must be my electric personality." Jongdae shocked Luhan on the side with his finger and laughed. 

Yin grabbed Jongdae's face to turn him back to her. 

"Uncle Jongdae, did you make any new things?" Yin asked when she got her Uncle's attention.

"I have! You wanna go take a look?" Jongdae asked Yin.

Yin hopped off and ran toward the invention room with Jongdae on her tail. Both of them disregarded the word of caution from Luhan. Luhan shook his head at the two children running to the invention room. Luhan was feeling a little tired, porting took away a lot of his energy because of the white noise. He wants Jongdae to invent something that makes porting to each sector easier.  
He leaned his head back against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. Luhan felt his Portwatch vibrate against his wrist. Luhan looked down at it and noticed it was white. Baekhyun needed him, he responded to the message and walked over to where the invention room was. 

"Jongdae, can you watch Yin for a few moments?" Luhan walked into the invention room and looked for Jongdae. Yin and Jongdae were playing with some invention at the back of the room. Jongdae looked up at the sound of his name, he nodded to Luhan and went back to playing with the invention. 

"Yin, I'll be back soon, okay? Stay with Uncle Jongdae, and behave." Luhan said to Yin. 

Luhan shook his head at the lack of response from Yin, she too amazed by the invention to care about what was going on. Luhan walked out of Jongdae's house and looked at his watch to turn the dials to Baekhyun's sector. Luhan covered his ears while porting, he hated the white noise. He looked around and noticed Baekhyun's house in front of him. He carefully knocked on the door. The door opened without him touching the handle, Baekhyun wasn't on the other side of the door either. 

"Baekhyun?" Luhan called out. 

Luhan carefully walked into Baekhyun's house, looking for the younger guardian. Luhan felt it was strange that Baekhyun was nowhere to be found, even though Baekhyun was the one who sent the message. Luhan was a little skeptical, he knew how Baekhyun likes to have fun. Baekhyun, Jongdae, and Chanyeol were all very energetic and loved playing pranks. This felt different, Luhan didn't feel like this was the start of a prank. 

"Baekhyun?" He called out again.  
Luhan walked into the living room and knew something was wrong. The living room was trashed, glass and blood stains everywhere. Broken appliances, furniture ripped apart. 

"Baekhyun!" Luhan called out in a panic.

Luhan ran throughout the house looking for the younger guardian. Baekhyun was nowhere in the house. Luhan ran to the front door and threw it open only to stop in shock. Auris was destroyed. The once beautiful snow-white buildings were black and were crumbling around him. The snow-white streets were cracked and demolished. Fire all around him, the citizens of Auris were all gone. There was no living person in sight. The pristine white streets now had a crimson river flowing down them. Luhan ran down the streets screaming for Baekhyun. He dodged the crimson river and continued down the streets of this once pure place. Luhan looked around for Baekhyun, continuing to the Center of Auris. Luhan breathed heavily when he reached the center of Auris. Baekhyun was on his knees with his back to Luhan. 

"Baekhyun, what happened here?" Luhan asked immediately.

Baekhyun didn't answer him. Luhan walked up to Baekhyun slowly.

"Baekhyun?" Luhan called out softly. 

"Luhan… I tried to stop them." Baekhyun whispered. 

Baekhyun shook his head and stayed facing the burning center of his home. 

"Who did you try to stop?" Luhan asked softly. 

"I called you, why didn't you come? No one came to help. I called all of you." Baekhyun growled softly.

Luhan looked around slightly, he noticed Baekhyun's guardian necklace on the ground, broken in half. That's not supposed to happen, those were supposed to be unbreakable. Baekhyun stood up slowly, Luhan backed up slightly.

"Baekhyun?" He called out again softly.

"None of you came…" Baekhyun started shaking a little.

"Baekhyun, I don't understand, I came immediately when I saw the message." Luhan looked around at the destruction, he didn't notice Baekhyun turning around slowly. 

"You were too late, this is your fault." Baekhyun was fully facing Luhan now. 

Baekhyun's hair fell over his eyes, not that it mattered. Baekhyun lunged at Luhan. Both crashed to the ground Luhan under Baekhyun. Luhan looked up in shock, what he saw scared him more than the current state of Auris. Baekhyun was bleeding out of his nose and his mouth, his eyes were deep sockets of nothing. His eyes were gone. Baekhyun wrapped his hands around Luhan's throat and squeezed as hard as he could. 

"B-Baek," Luhan said terrified, he clawed at Baekhyun's hands, he didn't want to use his powers on Baekhyun. The younger guardian was already hurting mentally and physically, he didn't want to add to that if it could be avoided. 

"Baek- Baekhyun!" He choked out. 

Luhan's lungs were burning, he couldn't get air into his lungs, he couldn't breathe. Baekhyun's grip was too tight, his anger blinded his actions. Baekhyun wasn't listening to him, too busy screaming about how this was his fault, and how no one came. Luhan couldn't take it, Baekhyun was killing him. Luhan used his abilities to push Baekhyun off him. When Baekhyun's grip loosened, he pushed him harder than intended. Baekhyun flew back and he hit the opposite building. Luhan coughed and tried to regain himself. Luhan stood up slowly and looked to where he threw Baekhyun. He noticed Baekhyun wasn't standing up. 

"B-Baek?" Luhan's voice cracked.

Baekhyun wasn't moving, in a panic, he ran to Baekhyun's side. Luhan rolled Baekhyun over gently. Luhan pulled Baekhyun into his arms and moved his hair out of his face. Luhan put his hand on Baekhyun face, he tapped him gently. Luhan moved Baekhyun slightly.  
Luhan froze, the back of Baekhyun's head was sticky feeling. Luhan lifted his hand and saw a red, sticky substance on it. Luhan quickly looked at the wall that Baekhyun hit, blood covered the place of impact. Baekhyun hit the wall hard enough to bust his head open. Baekhyun needed help immediately, Luhan set him down gently and took off the jacket he had on, he put it under Baekhyun's head.  
He activated his portwatch and turned the dial to Yixing's sector. He held Baekhyun close to him and kept the pressure on his head, the white noise seemed to become louder than ever. They arrived in front of where Yixing's house was supposed to be. Vitae was in the same state as Auris. Yixing was lying in the debris where his home once was. He wasn't moving either, Luhan called for Yixing as loud as he could. 

"Lu-." He thought he heard his name. 

Luhan looked around for any sign of life.

"Luhan!" A voice yelled at him.

Luhan woke up startled. Jongdae was shaking him, Luhan was still in Cerauno, in Jongdae's living room. 

"Are you alright Luhan?" Jongdae asked immediately. 

"J-Jongdae?" Luhan asked. 

Luhan looked around and noticed he was still on Jongdae's couch, in his living room. There was no dead Yixing, or dying Baekhyun, no streets of crimson rivers. 

"Luhan, you had a vision, didn't you?" Jongdae asked. 

"Y-Yin, she wasn't in here for that, was she?" Luhan asked quickly. 

"No, she is still in the invention room," Jongdae answered carefully. 

Luhan looked at his portwatch, there was no message from Baekhyun.

"Luhan, what was your vision of?" Jongdae asked. 

Luhan looked up to look at Jongdae, he was afraid, his eyes were terrified.

"It's nothing Dae." Luhan stopped talking when he noticed the hard look in Jongdae's eyes. 

"Don't tell me that was nothing, you were shaking Luhan, your eyes were white," Jongdae stated in a stern tone. 

"Jongdae, I don't want to talk about it right now," Luhan said softly. 

Jongdae hasn't seen Luhan like this since the Red Force attacked Earth. Jongdae sat down next to Luhan and tried to offer some comfort to the older guardian. Luhan leaned his head against Jongdae's shoulder. 

"Was it the Red Force?" Jongdae asked.

"I wish I knew," Luhan answered back miserably.

Luhan realized he couldn't hear anything from the invention room. 

"Uh, Jongdae, why can't I hear my kid in the invention room." He asked Jongdae. 

"Don't worry, she is playing with the device I took from Earth, you know the little version of the arcade games." Jongdae smiled. 

"She likes playing with the little arcade games." Luhan looked really confused.

"Yeah, she loves it." Jongdae chuckled. 

Luhan looked over to the invention room when he heard an excited yell. Both guardians stood up and started walking back to the room when Yin busted out with the happiest glow ever on a child. 

"Appa, Uncle Jongdae!" Yin yelled out.

"Yes Yinnie, what's up?" Jongdae asked the hyper girl.

"I beat the high score!" She jumped up and down excitedly. 

Both Luhan and Jongdae smiled at Yin. Their wrists started to shake a little bit, signifying a message has come through. Their Portwatches glowed a dark blue. The message was from Junmyeon because it came to both portwatches meant it was a Guardian Call. 

"Yinnie, we are going to go see Uncle Junmyeon." Luhan opened his arms slightly and he crouched so he could pick her up. 

Jongdae turned the dial on his portwatch and grabbed Luhan's hand. Once again, the white noise came over all of them, when they blinked they were in front of the Guardian Hall. They walked into the Hall and followed the hall of doors to the vast door at the end of the hall. The door opened and some of the Guardians were already present. Yin ran up to Junmyeon, who crouched down excitedly.

"Hello, Yinnie!" Junmyeon said happily.

"Hi, Uncle Junmyeon!" She hugged him tightly. 

The Guardians nodded in acknowledgment to each other, outside of this room they could be friendly to each other, not during a meeting though. When all the other Guardians were in the room, a lady dressed in gold and silver called a Guardian Angel, came to take Yin somewhere more appropriate and fun for her. When Yin finally left the room, Junmyeon took his place at the head of the table. 

"Welcome to all, let us begin." He sat down at his place and looked at the other eleven Guardians.

When he finally sat down the lights went out. The meeting room lit up with twelve streaks of light curving around the room, it made it look alive. The way the lights moved, it was as if small streams were making their way through the world to flow into the heart of Exoplanet. It never ceased to amaze Luhan, the technology of Exoplanet was created by the Guardians of Thunder. With their abilities, it gives them special talents in everyday jobs. 

The best example would be the Guardians of Thunder. Each of the previous Thunder Guardians have created something amazing for Exoplanet. Jongdae created the portwatches and is currently working on another version to ease the intensity of the white noise. The current Elder of Thunder created this very meeting room. The idea for this room is, it will not allow any meetings to start without the presence of all the Guardians.  
The lights met in the middle of the room. The way it was designed was beautiful, the room had a tribute to the current Elder of Light. The room was a praise to Auris, the walls and ceiling were as white as a fresh snowfall on Earth. With golden ridges and golden symbols of all the elements, the tall pillars met the elegant ceiling with golden pools surrounding glittering silver symbols of the Guardians. In the middle of the ceiling, the original twelve Guardians stayed in their immortal place of honor in front of the Tree of Life where the streams of light proceeded to act as a refreshing waterfall to the Tree.  
The lights on the floor swirled in the spiraled design like a fresh breeze running to the table. Reaching the table, the lights flow upwards to light up the symbols based on their arrival. The last one to “arrive” should always be the Guardian of Water. The calming presence of the Water Guardian helps begin the meeting in a peaceful manner. When the room has decided that all the Guardians are present the normal lights return to the room, allowing the meeting to begin. Luhan looked over at Junmyeon who stood up and nodded in acknowledgment. 

“Thank you all for being here today,” Junmyeon’s smile didn’t stay long as he noticed Baekhyun’s hand was raised and he had a smirk on his face and sighed. 

“Yes, Baekhyun, I know you don’t have a choice to be here, but I thank you anyway.” He smiled at Baekhyun, who laughed uncontrollably. 

When Baekhyun laughs, it’s like a spark, it causes everyone else to laugh along with him. It’s one of the perks of being the Guardian of Light, nobody can stay angry when Baekhyun is smiling.  
Luhan felt a gaze stopped on him, he looked at the others to see which one was looking at him. Stopping at Jongdae, he noticed the same concern as earlier. Luhan smiled at Jongdae to try and ease the concern the younger Guardian. Nodding at Jongdae, he returned his gaze to Junmyeon. 

“Luhan, have you had any vision recently that may concern you at all?” Junmyeon asked.

Luhan thought about it for a second, he couldn’t let the others know just yet, he needed more information. Causing unnecessary panic is not something Luhan wanted to deal with, so he smiled and politely shook his head to Junmyeon’s question. Feeling the accusing glare from Jongdae, he looked over and smiled at him again. Telepathically, he sent calming waves to Jongdae, he knew the dangers of having an out of control Jongdae around the others. Seeing Jongdae close his eyes and take a breath, the small sparks in his eyes seemed to disappear.  
Luhan knew Jongdae trusted him, he took pride in holding on to the trust of his fellow Guardians. Being the Guardian of Mind is difficult, it would be so easy to lose control and hurt those around him mentally, Luhan doesn’t want that. Luhan loves all his brothers, he also loves his nieces and LuYin. Luhan wants to be a good mentor for his daughter and for the future of Exoplanet. Everyone on Exoplanet knows about the War of Mind and Water, thousands of years ago. 

It all started because of the fourth generation of the Mind Guardian. Having the responsibility that he had, broke him. He decided that the other Guardians were too weak to rule Exoplanet. He tried to stop the Tree of Life from powering the other Guardians, so he could overpower them mentally. He killed any apprentice that wasn’t his.  
It was a truly wicked heart driving this man. His apprentice, was simply that, he never made the father-son bond with the young apprentice. It was a toxic relationship; the young apprentice knew this was all wrong. The pain the other Guardians felt, started to destroy them from the inside out. Exoplanet was in despair; the young apprentice of Mind watched as his world fell apart.  
Behind the back of his mentor, he went to the leader of the Guardians, the Water Guardian. Walking into the Water Guardian’s realm was like a hurricane. He remembered coming here with the Water apprentice. She was his best friend. The two apprentices would constantly come here to hang out and watch how peaceful the waters were.  
The Water Guardian loved his daughter. Without her here, the leader broke, and the realm started to fall apart. The young apprentice of Mind knew being here was dangerous for him. The thought of the leader’s rage being placed all on him was terrifying. He knew this needed to change. It took a long time for the Water Guardian to trust him.  
Although their abilities were different, the Water Guardian took him on as an unofficial apprentice. His own mentor refused to teach him anything, afraid of the day the young boy would surpass him. Together the two of the gathered the other guardians and overpowered the Guardian of Mind. The young apprentice was sad to see his mentor pass the final stage, turning into an Elder, as he had surpassed his mentor in more ways than one. 

The Water Guardian allowed the new Mind Guardian to decide the punishment for the Elder. Through his compassion, he decided the Elder would not be allowed to be near the future apprentices, but no other punishment would be necessary. The highlight of being an Elder is watching the children they raised become honorable Guardians and wonderful parent figures to the next apprentices. The Elder however did not pass alone. The Mind Guardian visited him every day.  
Although he was a broken man, after realizing his actions, he finally saw the guardian as his son. Restoring power to the Tree allowed apprentices to be “born” again. Order was restored to Exoplanet, and the Elder of Mind passed peacefully. This Guardian of Mind was Luhan’s mentor. Having his mentor pass before he could meet LuYin hurt Luhan deeply.  
Knowing how he was raised, Luhan strived to be a Guardian and mentor, his father would be proud of. Luhan blinked when he realized he had zoned out, looking around he noticed the meeting was nearly over. Looking over to Jongdae, Luhan knew he would have to ask him later about the meeting. 

“With this arrangement, this meeting is now over. Once again I thank you all for coming.” Junmyeon bowed to the table of Guardians before him and stood from the table.  
The huge doors behind Luhan opened slowly as the other Guardians also started to rise. Leaving the room, he smiled and waved his goodbye to the Guardians who did not have an apprentice just yet. Standing in front of the vast door across the hall to the meeting room, he waited for his Guardian Angel to come out with LuYin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the boys or the Red Force or anything like that, I only own the original characters I came up with. Just writing this for some fun~


	2. Technical Problems

II.  
Jongdae  
Technically speaking, all technical problems should be resolved in an orderly fashion of mischief and chaos.

Jongdae could not calm his mind, continuously thinking about Luhan, who wouldn’t talk about his visions, how afraid Luhan was about Yin witnessing him being weak for a moment. How often does that happen? What is he seeing? These questions plagued his mind through the meeting, Luhan kept trying to calm him throughout the meeting. Luhan knew Jongdae was not happy with the way he chose to deal with the earlier situation. 

The meeting itself was the same as they as generally are, how are your sectors, anything seems strange, all the same questions. Although it can be annoying, they need to be asked and answered in an efficient way. Thankfully the meeting was done in a quick manner. Rising from his seat, he looked around and noticed his fellow Guardians are quickly leaving the room, so they can chat with each other. Returning to the hall, Jongdae looked around for Jongin, a younger Guardian, who ended up finding him first. 

“Jongdae!” Jongin threw his arms around the older Guardian.

“Hello, Jongin, how was your time with Soojin?” He hugged Jongin back tightly.

“It was great! I am her favorite Uncle after all.” Jongin laughed slightly and shook his head.

“Is she here?” Jongdae asked.

Soojin wanted to go visit Jongin about two days ago, Jongdae missed his little girl. Jongin nodded happily and point across the hall to a golden door. The door was etched with old symbols of all the Guardians that came before. Jongdae looked at the door carefully, his mentor’s symbol is already present on all the doors in the hall now that she is an Elder. Soojin loves going to visit the Elder of Thunder.   
One day his own symbol will be on all the doors in this hall when Soojin surpasses him and he takes over the mantle of being the Elder of Thunder. Noticing the door wasn’t open quite yet, he looked around and saw a few of the other Guardians waiting for their apprentices to come out so they could all go home to their sectors. The golden door opened slowly, revealing the Guardian Angels and the apprentices. Four out of the twelve Guardian Angels had apprentices behind them. The Guardian Angel dawned in light blue with golden symbols etched into her apparel was the Frost Guardian Angel.   
Jongdae looked over to the eldest Guardian, Minseok, and watched as he walked over to his solider. The golden symbols etched into her apparel glowed, she bowed to him and made way for the apprentice to reach her mentor. Jongdae smiled at how timid Sungbin seemed, although she was almost seven years old, it reminded him of the first time she was brought to the hall. Sungbin bowed slightly to Minseok, causing some of the Guardians to smile endearingly. Minseok had told her many times that she never needed to bow to anyone.   
Sungbin, on the other hand, loved to be polite. She reminded Jongdae of a younger Minseok, he used to do that as well when they were younger. Minseok thanked the Guardian Angel and held his hand out for Sungbin to hold and the two of them were off. The next to step forward was Luhan. The Guadian Angel dawned in silver and gold stepped forward to meet him.

After asking for permission to approach, walked up to Luhan with concern glowing in her silver eyes. She got really close to Luhan, so she could whisper something Jongdae couldn’t quite hear. Luhan grimaced and thanked her for telling him, bowing to him, she moved slightly so LuYin could come through to meet her mentor. A little more demanding than Sungbin was, she held out her hand for Luhan to take. The two of them left after thanking the Guardian Angel, leaving two Guardians left, himself and Junmyeon. The leader of the Guardians seemed a little concerned about Luhan and LuYin.   
Quickly stepping forward to the Guardian Angel robed in dark blue and gold. Bowing his thanks to the Angel, she moved slightly allowing the young apprentice through. Minyoung, the next leader of the Guardians. She seemed wise beyond her years, she was only five years old. Her little eyes lit up when she saw Junmyeon and she rushed over to hug him.   
It made Jongdae smile and miss his little girl more, so he quickly walked up to his own Guardian Angel. She wore yellow and silver, his symbol was in gold, but it just looked off. Bowing to him she moved to let Soojin come forward. Walking forward slowly, her little pigtails bouncing in time with her step. Thanking the Angel, he reached forward to pick up Soojin. 

“Hi Appa~” She giggled slightly.

“Hello, lightning bug, how was your stay at Uncle Jongin’s house?” He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. 

“So fun!” She said happily, and she poked him in the face. 

After leaving the hall, Jongdae set her down and turned his watch to Cerauno, covering her ears from the white noise. Seeing the golden streets of their home, Soojin excitedly jumped up and down, running to their front door. 

“Soojin, wait up!” Jongdae chuckled slightly.

Opening the door to their home, Soojin raced around the living room and the kitchen. Jongdae walked toward his invention room and pulled out a small box. 

“Soojin, can you come here please?” He yelled out to the living room.

For Soojin, coming into the invention room was not a daily occurrence, she understood that the reason wasn’t her but her ability to control her random sparks. It annoys her at times because these random sparks also make it difficult for her to hang out with Minyoung as well. He remembered how hard it was to stay away from Junmyeon. The idea of lightning and water encountering each other is very dangerous.   
Guardians are different than apprentices. Guardians can’t die completely, apprentices can. Jongin’s first apprentice got sick before they could even meet. Although the life of the young apprentice was so short Jongin mourned for the kid he never met. This happens quite often in this world of Guardians. Jongdae remembered when he had to stay far away from Junmyeon.   
It was very difficult for him to pretend everything was okay. This didn’t just happen to him and Junmyeon. The Guardian of Fire, Chanyeol, had to stay away from everyone when he was young as well. Not just for the safety of the others, but for himself as well. Unfortunately, throughout the history of Exoplanet, the apprentices of fire must deal with this ache in their skin.   
From what Chanyeol has said, it’s like there’s a constant fire being lit under their skin. All the Guardians have had trouble with their element, it’s just how they grow stronger. Jongdae’s problem was mainly the sparks, same as Soojin now, their element is dangerous based on their emotion. Learning from Jongdae, Soojin doesn’t really know how to control her emotions yet. All Guardians of Thunder are very expressive with their emotions, it comes with the element. 

Apprentices are taught to be their element and to never let their element be them. When they become a Guardian of their element, there is no time for them to allow their element to overpower anyone. Everyone has their weaknesses; no Guardian can completely overpower another. Jongdae was personally impressed with Soojin, she is very young, and yet she has better control than he ever did at her age. Jongdae is always proud of her, no matter what she does, his pride never falls. 

Watching her run around the invention room excitedly made him chuckle. Noticing the start of sparks forming in her eyes, he called her name softly. Hearing her father, she calmed down slightly and walked over to Jongdae, her arms wide open. When Jongdae picked her up, the amount of energy she gave him when he picked her up, would have been enough to knock any other grown man off his feet. Although that amount of energy is dangerous now, it also means great power in her future. Kissing the top of her head, he left the invention room and noticed she was getting tired. 

“I think it’s time for a nap, Soojin,” Jongdae said with a soft smile.

“But Appa, I’m not tired.” Soojin tried to rub the sleep from her eyes, only to end up yawning. 

Jongdae laughed and kissed her forehead, walking to her room slowly. Humming a lullaby, he learned on Earth, she didn’t even have a chance to stay awake. Reaching her room, he set her under the covers softly and gently brushed a few strands of her blonde hair away from her face. 

“Sleep well, Angel.” He said softly. 

Quietly leaving the room, Jongdae headed directly to the invention room, he turned on a little monitor he took from Earth, to hear if she woke up. Sitting at his designing table, he started to draw out a new version of the Portwatch, he knew exactly what Luhan’s concerns were and were determined to fix it in any way possible. He loved inventing things for himself and his fellow Guardians, anything he could do to make their lives a little easier, he would invent it. 

Spending hours on end inventing, it was a little lonely at times, but he knew the product would be worth it. Every once and while Baekhyun and Chanyeol would pop by the make him take breaks here and there. He wouldn’t be surprised if they popped by today. The three of them were apprentices together, they have been together for longer than any of them could remember. The three elements of Thunder, Fire, and Light, were always close to each other. 

When they were all apprentices, the three of them were troublemakers, they loved making jokes and pranking the others. They loved making people smile. As they grew up they noticed that they couldn’t continue to play these childish games all the time. They needed to show growth in their personalities and in their maturity. Baekhyun saved both Jongdae and Chanyeol. 

The two of them had a hard time taking control of their abilities and their emotions. Chanyeol had his anger, while Jongdae had his excitement. Jongdae and Baekhyun helped Chanyeol understand that there was no fire under his sick. Leaning back in his chair, Jongdae started thinking more about the others, than fixing the portwatch. There was something going on between Luhan and Junmyeon. He wasn’t the only one who noticed either, the others were starting to get nervous. 

Crossing his arms, he sighed deeply. Junmyeon had always been a little twitchy around Luhan, it was mainly about the past issues with Guardians of Mind and Water. Although Jongdae knew there was no reason for anyone to fear Luhan, he understood why Junmyeon was nervous. They all grew up together, they knew each other better than their own elements. Jongdae was confident that Luhan would not hurt any one of them.   
Not only was Luhan showing how he loved them all, he was raising LuYin into a wonderful person. Jongdae always thought the world of his brothers. A cry from the monitor got Jongdae’s attention. Rising from his chair, he left his blueprint and walked quickly to Soojin’s room. 

“Soojin, what’s the matter?” Jongdae sat on the edge of her bed and brushed her hair aside. 

Soojin got up quick and hopped in his lap, wrapping her little arms around his neck. 

“I missed you.” She said quietly. 

Jongdae smiled and hugged her tightly, they sat there for ten minutes, just enjoying each other’s company. There was a loud knock on the front door, startling the two of them from the silence they were enjoying. Jongdae picked her up as he stood and walked to the front door. Opening it slightly, the door busted open. Scaring the heck out of Jongdae, who clutched Soojin tightly against him and back up. 

“Jongdae! Soojin!” Two excited voice yelled out happily as they bust themselves in. 

“B-Baekkie, C-Channie!” Soojin yelled out excitedly when she realized who just broke into their house. 

Soojin wiggled herself out of her father’s arms and ran to Baekhyun and Chanyeol. 

“Hey there, Sparky.” Chanyeol laughed and picked her up. 

Baekhyun reached over to Jongdae and gave his friend a nice long bear hug. Laughing somewhat, he rolled his eyes at Chanyeol’s comment and hugged Baekhyun. 

“Chanyeol, what did I tell you about calling my child Sparky?” Jongdae asked. 

The three men laughed together and walked in the door fully, letting the door close behind them. The four walked into the living room and sat down on the furniture. Jongdae looked at Chanyeol and Baekhyun, both playing around with Soojin.

“Any sign yet?” Jongdae asked. 

To any other person, that question would have confused people, to Guardian it meant everything. Before an apprentice is “born” their mentor’s necklace starts to glow slightly. It’s one of the most exciting things for a Guardian. Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun sighed shaking their heads negatively. Jongdae felt lucky that he had Soojin, only four out of twelve Guardians had their apprentices.   
Besides him and Soojin, there was Luhan and LuYin, Junmyeon and Minyoung, and lastly Sungbin and Minseok. The others, as far as Jongdae knew, hadn’t even received the sign yet. There was the Jongin incident, which didn’t even really involve Jongin. The younger Guardian was heartbroken when he was told his apprentice passed away due to sickness. Jongin didn’t even get to meet the young boy before he was stripped away. 

Given time, there will be another apprentice for Jongin, it might take a little while though. All the Guardians remembered how hard it was for Jongin, he locked himself away from all of them, he grieved alone although they were all there for him. The Guardians were glad that he was starting to come back to them, smiling more, and he loved watching Soojin for Jongdae if he had to leave the sector for more than a few hours. It was defiantly improvement for Jongin, it made everyone sigh in relief. 

“It will come,” Jongdae said reassuringly. 

Baekhyun reached forward and held Jongdae’s hand and smiled thankfully. Jongdae decided to pull the older boy closer to him so he could hug Baekhyun tightly, while Chanyeol squeezed the life out of Soojin. 

“Chanyeol, please do not kill my child.” Jongdae joked around

“But she’s just so cute!” Chanyeol pouted.

Soojin laughed and poked Chanyeol’s cheeks. Jongdae noticed some sparks in Soojin’s eyes. He tried to warn Chanyeol, but he wasn’t fast enough, Chanyeol yelled out in pain as Soojin shocked Chanyeol to next Tuesday. Chanyeol stood up clutching his hand in pain as Soojin watch tearfully on the couch. Baekhyun quickly stood up to help Chanyeol while Jongdae gently picked up Soojin.  
When she releases that much energy she gets tired. He tried to put her to bed, but she was crying so hard. Jongdae could tell how sorry she was and how worried she was about Chanyeol. Rocking her calmingly he tried to get her to sleep. Chanyeol walked in and held his arms out for Jongdae to put Soojin in them. 

Knowing there was no way she could release that amount of energy for a while, he allowed Chanyeol to take her from him. Walking over to Baekhyun, he watched as Chanyeol calmed Soojin down. Whispering to her soothingly, reassuring her that he was alright and that it wasn’t her fault. Being in his Uncle’s arms, she eventually calmed herself down and fell asleep on him. Gently placing her under the covers, he motioned for Jongdae and Baekhyun to come over. 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol kissed their niece’s forehead and went to the entrance of her room so Jongdae could take a second. Moving her hair out of the way of her face, once again, he leaned down and lightly kissed her little nose. Smiling he leaned down to her small ear and whispered loving words to her, tucking her in Jongdae kissed the crown of her head once again before allowing her to sleep peacefully. Switching off the lights and gently shutting the door, Jongdae turned to Chanyeol.

“Are you alright?” He asked immediately.

“Jongdae, I’m a Guardian, of course, I’m alright, just got a little shocked.” He smiled and winked at Jongdae who scoffed. 

Jongdae hugged Chanyeol and Baekhyun tightly, who laughed at his softness but hugged him back just as tight. 

“Jongdae, have you started the new plans for the portwatch yet?” Baekhyun let go and tilted his head. 

“Yeah! Want to come look at the blueprint?” Jongdae asked excitedly.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun laughed and nodded, the one way to get Jongdae happy again, was to ask about his creations. Leading the two of them too, what Chanyeol liked to call, the Frankenstein lab. Arriving at their destination, he pulled out two other chairs and sat down at the planning station. Before he forgot, Jongdae leaned over and placed the monitor near him and grabbed his lucky pencil, placing it upon his ear. Chanyeol and Baekhyun looked over the blueprint. 

They were also excited about the new portwatch, as the white noise also bothered the two of them and were happy Jongdae was taking another stab at it. Jongdae was a genius, they both knew that he was the first Thunder Guardian to make something that could connect the other sectors in an easier fashion. When the first portwatch came out, all the Guardians were amazed. No one wanted to tell Jongdae that the white noise hurt them, they left it until one day, Luhan fainted because of how loud the white noise was. Jongdae was angry with all of them and caused a blackout for the Sector they were in. Luhan was the Guardian of Mind, of course, he was going to be the most sensitive to the white noise, it angered Jongdae that they all let it get that far. They meant well, Jongdae knew that, but he was angry that something he made hurt his friends. He was determined to make everything right with the Portwatch 2.0. 

“Can I be honest with the two of you?” Chanyeol asked after looking at the blueprint. 

Jongdae and Baekhyun stopped what they were doing and looked at their younger friend. 

“Of course, Yeollie,” Baekhyun said immediately.

“I’m afraid of when my apprentice arrives. How do you do it Jongdae?” Chanyeol asked. 

Jongdae was sure that Chanyeol was referencing to the energy outbursts that Soojin suffers from time to time. Jongdae fully faced Chanyeol and Baekhyun moved his chain a bit so he could put his arm around Chanyeol’s shoulder. 

“Chanyeol, I’m not going to lie, it’s hard. It’s painful to watch, but I have to believe that I can take all that I’ve learned from my mentor and help her through this.” Jongdae said softly. 

“Do you remember when we were younger, all that time of pain, and hurting others around us?” Chanyeol asked Jongdae, a few tears falling from his eye. 

Reaching forward, Jongdae wiped the tears from Chanyeol’s face and took a hold of his hands. 

“Chanyeol, when your apprentice comes, you will not face this alone. You have me, you have Baekhyun, heck even the others would help out if you explained the situation to them.” Jongdae smiled in reassurance.

“That’s not what I’m afraid of, I know that they will be able to control it just as I did, what I’m afraid of is watching them be in pain. I don’t even know how my mentor handled it when I was in pain.” Chanyeol held on to Jongdae’s hands and leaned against Baekhyun, who ran his hand through Chanyeol’s hair calmingly. 

“I understand where you are coming from, when she lost control just now and hurt you, I felt horrible. I felt awful that you got shocked, and I felt sad for her. However, I know that one day, this will all end. She will gain control on her own, I just have to guide her.” Jongdae sat a little closer to his two friends.

“Your apprentice will have so many people that love them, and will help them, but no one will love that apprentice more than you. You will make a fantastic father to that apprentice, you just have to believe in yourself. You are wonderful, compassionate, and your apprentice will know that you love them every single day they wake up and see your smiling face-” Jongdae cut off when Chanyeol hugged him tightly and pulled Baekhyun into the hug as well. 

“It’s alright to be afraid, but you’re not alone.” Jongdae heard Baekhyun say to Chanyeol. 

“Also, if Jongdae, of all people, can raise such a cute kid like Soojin, anyone can!” Baekhyun laughed when Jongdae pushed him away.

Jongdae grabbed the monitor and the three of them stood up and walked away from the portwatch 2.0. They walked outside of the house and sat on Jongdae’s porch. The golden streets shined under the beaming sun. Jongdae loved the color chosen for his element, it was bright and friendly. The buildings of Cerauno were created by the third generation Thunder Guardian. The buildings of Cerauno were tall and elegant, they all had immense pillars in front of them and the doors had the design of his symbol in various sizes, shapes, and forms. 

Cerauno was filled with happy and friendly people. Everyone here was willing to help anyone that needed it. Of course, Baekhyun and Chanyeol insisted that their sectors looked nicer, but Jongdae loved walked outside his home and seeing his mentor’s symbols where it belongs, where all can see. The art design of each build had one of the previous Thunder Guardians.   
All noble Guardians had a place in every sector, statues made in their honor placed around the sector. The buildings themselves were made with special bricks from Kyungsoo’s, Guardian of Force and Earth, sector. Made to stand strong against anything, it complements the golden streets and pillars all around them. Etched into each build is a tribute to those who died in the Guardian War.   
The final battle was fought and won on the streets of Cerauno. This is where the citizens of Exoplanet came together and made their future brighter for the upcoming generations. Leaning against Chanyeol, Jongdae closed his eyes and felt the breeze and sunlight on his face. Chanyeol reached around Jongdae and Baekhyun, pulling his two friends closer to him and allowed them to lean against him. 

“It’s pretty here, Jongdae,” Baekhyun said from the other side of Chanyeol.

“It sure is.” Jongdae smiled and nodded to Baekhyun. 

Suddenly, Chanyeol’s necklace started glowing, shocked his eyes widened and his grabbed his symbol. He looked at Jongdae and then to Baekhyun. Before either boy could say anything, Chanyeol’s portwatch turned a red color, signifying the Elders were calling out to him. The three men stood up and Baekhyun pushed Chanyeol telling him to go. Turning the portwatch dials to the Elder Hall, Chanyeol was gone without a word.   
Baekhyun turned and smiled at Jongdae. The two boys hugged and excitedly laughed, happy for their young friend. Their excitement was short lived when they heard the monitor cry out with a familiar voice. The two of them walked back into the house and made their way to Soojin. 

“Soojin~” Baekhyun said soothingly.

“B-Baekie, Appa…” She said sadly.

Both could tell she was still feeling awful about what happened with Chanyeol. The two of them sat down on her bed. 

“Soojin, it’s all okay.” Jongdae opened his arms for her.

Baekhyun ran his fingers through her hair softly.

“Jongdae, I have to get going soon,” Baekhyun whispered when she nodded off again. 

“Thank you for being here Baekhyun, it means a lot to the both of us,” Jongdae whispered back.

Lightly putting her on the bed, the two of them stood up and embraced each other. Baekhyun hugged Jongdae tightly before letting go completely and smiling at the younger Guardian. Turning the dial to Auris, Baekhyun smiled once more before disappearing. Jongdae turned back to Soojin’s room and gently scooted her over so she could be comfortable. 

Sitting down on the chair, on the other side of the room, he rested there happily and closed his eyes resting on the back of the chair. He stayed there in case she woke up scared again, and he didn’t really have the energy to continue working on anything right now, he felt exhausted. Tomorrow he will ask Luhan about the vision, but as for right now, he just wanted to rest peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2~ Hope you liked it!


	3. Leader of Twelve (M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains violence

III.  
Junmyeon

Of past intent, a leader betrayed will mourn alone, a young apprentice shall rise to retaliate.

Junmyeon sighed, at least the meeting was now over, and he could now enjoy the rest of his day. He couldn’t get Luhan out of his head. As a leader, he hated when the others kept secrets from him. Maybe it is because of what happened in the past, maybe it was just because he wished the others would trust him a little more. How could he be a good mentor to Minyoung without the trust of the others?  
Staying within his thoughts, Junmyeon didn’t notice the small devious child, making her way towards him on the couch. Minyoung was five years old, she didn’t quite understand what a leader is supposed to stand for, she was still young. She liked to mess around. She placed her little cup of water on the floor and slowly started to manipulate the little amount of water and made a small sphere of water. Lifting the sphere, she quietly moved it toward the unsuspecting Junmyeon. Throwing the aqua sphere right into his face, Minyoung laughed at his shocked expression. Junmyeon, however, did not find it funny. He was now soaking wet and stood up really infuriated. 

“Kim MinYoung!” He yelled out angerly. 

MinYoung stopped laughing, she was in trouble yet again. Looking down, she tried looking a little innocent to lessen the punishment she was about to be given. Seeing how it was just a little bit of fun for her, and how upset she now looked, Junmyeon softened his gaze and knelt to her level.

“Minyoungie, I’m sorry I yelled.” Junmyeon said softly to the five-year-old.

Minyoung slowly looked up to Junmyeon, a little hesitant, she knew she crossed a line, but she just wanted to make him smile. Seeing him open his arms she walked forward and wrapped her little arms around his neck and allowed him to pick her up. Placing her on his hip, he kissed her forehead and allowed her to snuggle with him. Turning on his heels, he headed for the backyard, she looked at her surroundings and realized where they were going, Minyoung excitedly looked at Junmyeon. They were headed toward the little training stream in their backyard. She squirmed her way out of his arms and crouched on the little pebbles. Small creatures, called frillets, swam in the little stream. Minyoung named each little creature after her uncles and her fellow apprentice friends. 

“Minyoung, show Appa, what you remember.” Junmyeon sat down next to her. 

As Minyoung remembered everything from last time, a conversation floated into Junmyeon’s mind. Unfortunately, unlike the others, Minyoung will not stay with Junmyeon for her training. All Water apprentices do not stay with their mentors for the entire training session of their life. They can go home with their mentors to create a bond with each other. After the bond is complete they are taken to the leadership training in the Elder Hall, they stay there for about three years. 

When they are there they learn from all the Elders present, they learn about patience, nobility, humbleness, and leadership. When the Elders feel the young leader is ready, they can go home to their mentor to continue their ability training. Junmyeon wasn’t ready for her to go, this was his little girl, that’s all he wanted her to be. He knows when she finally surpasses him, she will make him proud. He just wanted a little more time with her before she grows up too fast, just as he did. 

The Elders had sent him a message to warn him of when they would come. She would start her leadership training at eleven years old. It wasn’t enough time, he wanted more time with her. Since that is pretty much impossible unless he asked Tao, the Guardian of Time, to manipulate time for a while. Which he wasn’t allowed to do anymore because it was an improper use of the Guardian Title. Junmyeon wants to make the little time he has when she is still allowed to be a child, and make it wonderful for both of them. 

“Minyoung, would you come here please?” Junmyeon smiled at her. 

Minyoung bounded over and sat down on his lap. Putting his head on top of hers, he sighed contently. Knowing she would probably get bored, he started manipulating the little stream in front of them. He made a little sphere with two little frillets inside of it. Letting the little frillets swim while he continues to manipulate the water carefully. 

“Appa, little Hunnie and Kyungie are flying!” She said happily. 

Minyoung poked the little sphere ball and the small frillets swim to her little finger. Squeaking in delight, she kissed her pointer finger and gently pressed it to their little heads. Junmyeon would admit, he was a little protective of Minyoung around Luhan. It was to be expected, the two Guardians have already had a conversation. Junmyeon felt horrible, but Luhan understood.  
A leader would never be as lucky as Junmyeon is right now. He loved all his Guardian brothers, and he loved how understanding they all were. However, the past cannot be unwritten, it can only be learned from. Two apprentices before him were murdered by the Guardian of Mind, they all were. Thankfully, due to Luhan’s mentor, everything turned out alright. His mentor could live after that Mind Guardian was taken from his place of power. 

Junmyeon was thankful for Luhan’s mentor, all mourned when he passed away, there was no doubt Luhan would use abilities for the good of Exoplanet and for LuYin to learn from. Minyoung yawned a bit and she snuggled herself against him. Junmyeon slowly puts down the little frillets and faced her toward himself so she could snuggle easier. When the Guardians were hiding on Earth, they were a part of an entertainment company, they sang to make people happy. Junmyeon smiled at the memory, they weren’t Guardians there, they were just people.

His stage name was Suho, he was the leader of the group, he remembers a song he loved to sing on Earth. Humming softly to Minyoung, the song was Promise. It was a beautifully slow song with passion embedded into the words and melodies. She fell asleep quickly, standing up carefully, he headed back inside. Sitting down on the rocking chair in his living room, grabbing a blanket from the back of the chair and covered the two of them, closing his eyes, he started to relax. 

A few hours later, his eyes shot open, there was no longer a little girl near him and the smoke alarm was going off. He shot off the chair and ran to the kitchen, Minyoung had the back door open and she was trying to fan the smoke out the door. Junmyeon tried to be strict, but he just started laughing. He never thought he would see a five-year-old trying to push smoke out of the kitchen through the back door. Moving the chair, she used to get up to the stove, he turned everything off and moved to the smoke alarm.

“Minyoungie, what were you doing?” He asked.

“I was trying to make dinner…” She looked down to the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

Junmyeon couldn’t be angry with the small child. He just sighed and smiled. 

“What’s the rule of the kitchen, Minyoung?” Crossing his arms, he looked at the small child. 

“No cooking unless you can reach the cabinets above the stove without a chair.” Minyoung grumbled slightly. 

“Alright, well, let’s give the kitchen some time to calm down after all that excitement.” Junmyeon held out his hand for her to grab. 

Walking out of the kitchen and through their front door, they looked at their home, Rivule. The stunning dark blue streets were like the night sky had bled on to them, before disappearing for the sun to shine. Minyoung and Junmyeon both sat down on their porch and admired the way their streets and buildings shined like sapphires under the heat of the harsh sun. Being the leader of the Guardians meant that his home was slightly closer to the Halls than the others, over the clouds of the horizon, he could see the true Halls of Exoplanet.  
Junmyeon wasn’t Luhan, he couldn’t get visions of the future. He had no idea what the future held for Minyoung. Slightly fearing the future for one individual would change nothing. Knowing how strict the Elders are going to be on Minyoung, it hurt Junmyeon to think of her going through all the same things he did, he also wondered if his mentor felt the same way. 

“Appa, you’re doing it again.” Minyoung’s soft voice stopped him in his thoughts. 

“I’m sorry, Minyoungie.” Smiling at her, he reached over to tickle her slightly. 

Placing Minyoung on his lap, the two of them watched over the people of Rivule. Minyoung looked at the sky and noticed the sun was starting to fall, sad that the day was ending, she snuggled against Junmyeon. 

“It’s almost bedtime, Minyoungie.” He smiled down at her sweetly. 

“But, I’m not tired.” She grumbled. 

Junmyeon kissed the top of her head and stood up and turned to go put her to bed. After making sure she was happy and cozy he left to go to his own room. Junmyeon sighed and sat on the edge of his bed. Placing his hand over his eyes, he sat there for a few moments. Removing his glasses, he tried to place them on his nightstand without looking and knocked something off.  
Retrieving the object from the floor, he brought it closer to his face since he had a hard time seeing without his glasses, it was a picture held in a beautiful custom-made frame. The picture was of the twelve of them when they were on Earth. It seemed easier then before the Red Force had enough of their taunting. When they were younger, they felt invincible. Sighing at the memory, he gently placed the picture back in its spot. He could only hope for a better day tomorrow. 

Junmyeon woke up in a cold sweat, he wasn’t in his bed anymore, he was on Earth again. Sitting up quickly, he looked around and noticed the destruction around him. Standing up, he felt blinding pain in his leg. His leg was bleeding heavily, he looked around the landscape and noticed a familiar figure a couple steps ahead of him. Limping heavily forward, it took him a while, he was in a lot of pain, falling to his knees.

“J-Jongin?” He called out hesitantly.

Jongin turned around, he was surprised to see Junmyeon, limping toward him. 

“Junmyeon!” Jongin rushed over and helped Junmyeon.

“What happened here?” Junmyeon asked after Jongin helped him sit comfortably.

“They found us, Earth is no longer safe, but we can’t just leave the people of Earth to the Red Force,” Jongin said quickly. 

Junmyeon knew Jongin was right, they did this. They taunted the Red Force, and now Earth is paying the price. This was their doing, their mistake, they have to clean the mess they created. 

“Where are the others?” Junmyeon demanded with urgency.

“I-I don’t know. I thought I was alone here. Junmyeon, what are we going to do?” Jongin inquired fearfully. 

“We must help these people, no one on Earth deserves the Red Force to ruin their lives.” He wanted to help comfort Jongin, but he needed to be the leader he was raised to be. 

Junmyeon woke up a little startled, calming once he saw he was safely in his room, in his home. Rising from his bed, he went to go check on Minyoung. Still sleeping in her bed, peacefully, he smiled and closed the door quietly. After making a cup of Aros coffee, he looked at his portwatch for any messages. Thankfully, there were no messages for him to look at, for once a calm morning greeted him and he embraced it.  
Sitting down at the table he opened his display processor, or as it was called on Earth his laptop, and looked at his plans for today. He knew he needed to meet with Yifan at some point today, they needed to talk about what they noticed at the last meeting. The two of them were kind of like co-leaders, it was nice to share some concerns with another person without worrying about jokes, or a sassy response. He thought about the last meeting they had, something was off. Luhan has always been nervous around him, he knew that was his own fault though. When the Guardians were younger, he used to blame Luhan for what happened during the War of Water and Mind. 

Still too young to understand the difference between Luhan and the other Mind Guardian, he tried to turn the others against him, but Jongdae understood that they were creating another problem. Luhan was alone, and Jongdae didn’t like it. He started inviting Luhan to everything they did, Luhan quickly twisted his way into their hearts. Jongdae knew without Luhan they would never be Guardians together, Exoplanet needed all twelve Guardians to keep the peace. Junmyeon could never thank Jongdae enough for that. 

Jongdae opened all their eyes. After that, however, Luhan had a hard time trusting the rest of them as much as he did Jongdae. At the meeting, Luhan looked extra anxious, during every meeting, Junmyeon must ask about Luhan’s visions, somehow, he knows Luhan wouldn’t tell him anyway. Not with the way Jongdae kept looking at Luhan. Junmyeon knew Luhan had to calm Jongdae down, being a Guardian of Thunder doesn’t allow you to hide when you are getting angry, Junmyeon could see the sparks in his eyes. Jongdae didn’t like it when any of them hid secrets from the others. Knowing how Luhan thinks, eventually, Luhan will confide in him, that’s a perk of being the leader of the twelve. 

Junmyeon had no doubt that the Red Force might return, after all, back on Earth they fought the Red Force but the Force itself was more than a threat. It was an idea that couldn’t be defeated. Wars are fought in two ways, physically and mentally, anybody can fight on a physical battlefield. The main reason the Water Guardian was chosen to be the leader was because of the ability to channel their element and tie it to their emotions. Water on Exoplanet was a source of tranquility, people can whisper to the babbling brooks, or sit peacefully next to them and stay there for as long as they need. 

Water on Exoplanet was a calm source of wisdom, but of course, there is always the calmness before a storm. The Water Guardian is always the calmest Guardian, the best choice for leadership. However calm Junmyeon is supposed to be, he hates secrets that could harm the people he cares about. Really hoping Luhan would confide in him a little more. Feeling a tremor from his wrist, he looked down, his watch turned orange. 

Trust Yifan to know exactly what he was thinking. He shook his head at the message and sent a quick one, asking if it was possible for Yifan to come here, he couldn’t leave Minyoung and didn’t have the heart to wake her up. Of course, Yifan agreed to come over and would be there soon. Junmyeon closed his display processor and walked to the lounge to have a seat. A few minutes later, the sound of someone appearing outside the front door disturbed the silence. 

“Hello, Junmyeon.” Yifan’s deep voice called out.

“Shh, Minyoung is still sleeping.” Junmyeon said quietly. 

“Ah, alright,” Sitting next to Junmyeon, Yifan smiled at his friend. 

“I may already know what’s bothering you.” Yifan stated. 

“Why doesn’t he talk to us more, I know we treated him horribly when we were younger, do you think he is still angry?” Junmyeon asked the older Guardian. 

“Luhan can’t stay angry, he understands why we took the actions that we did. He isn’t angry anymore.” Yifan shook his head and smiled at Junmyeon. 

“I did, however, notice the sparks Jongdae was emitting in the meeting the other day.” Yifan sighed a bit. 

“Do you think Jongdae knows?” Junmyeon asked hopefully. 

“I don’t think he does, if he did, he would have told Luhan to tell all of us. You know Jongdae doesn’t like secrets between the twelve of us.” Yifan sighed and shrugged. 

Both men looked over to the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Little Minyoung was slowly making her way to the noise in the living room. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she yawned and looked at the two men. Her striking blue eyes widened at the sight of her uncle sitting next to her father. 

“Uncle Fan!” She yelled out happily. 

Minyoung ran to Yifan and jumped at him, landing on top of his stomach, he was suddenly winded. 

“Hello, Minyoung, how was your rest?” Yifan asked when he regained his breath. 

“You and Appa are very noisy.” Wrinkling her nose in irritation. 

“Ah, I apologize Minyoung, was it a good rest otherwise?” Junmyeon asked her. 

“Yes, and seeing Uncle Fan is a nice surprise!” She smiled. 

“How busy are you today, Junmyeon?” Yifan inquired.

“Not very, today is a rest day, why do you ask?” Junmyeon questioned.

“I was going to go visit Tao, that’s part of the reason I came over, I wanted to know if you wanted to come along with me.” Yifan beamed at Junmyeon.  
It’s been a while since Minyoung had seen Tao. Being the Guardian of Time, Zitao watches all the Sectors closely, looking for any spike in Red Force sightings or another dangerous being to Exoplanet playing with the ability of time. 

“Can I come with, Appa?” MInyoung asked excitedly. 

“Alright, go get dressed.” Jumnyeon sighed teasingly. 

Minyoung bolted away from Yifan to go get dressed, Junmyeon quickly rose from his chair and nodded to Yifan, who was waiting patiently for the two of them. Quickly getting ready for the day, the two of them returned within an hour. Yifan was snoozing on the couch, until Minyoung jumped on him, startling the poor man from his slumber. 

“Ah, the two of you, are you finally ready.” Yifan pestered as he stood up with Minyoung. 

“Haha, very funny, but yes we are.” Junmyeon rolled his eyes. 

The three of them walked out of the house. Yifan transferred Minyoung to Junmyeon’s arms and both men set the dials on their portwatches. Attempting to hide from the white noise, Minyoung hid her right ear against Junmyeon’s shoulder and covered the left one with her hand along with closing her eyes. In a split second, the three were standing in front of Zitao’s house in the Sector of Interis. It’s been a while since Junmyeon had been in Interis, looking around, he noticed the colorful streets of Interis. Being known for their beautiful streets, tall buildings, and wonderful people, Interis was a wonderful place to visit if a Guardian needed a second to catch their breath. 

The color that represents Interis, was maroon. Within Exoplanet, the color maroon represents saviors, the Legend of Life and Time. The legend is about the second-generation Life and Time Guardian. The first-generation Guardians had a hard time releasing their positions to their apprentices, they even called themselves Kings. Every planet has had many different wars.  
The war of Kings and Mutineers was a brutal war, way worse than the War of Water and Mind. The first Kings ruled on fear, they demanded the people of Exoplanet worship them for being their savior from the evil being ruling over them, the Great Habbaks. There were only six Kings during this time, the six beings were almost as cruel as the original ruler. These beings of great power were known as the Main Six. The Kings of Water, Wind, Force, Fire, Dragon, and Frost. 

The citizens feared these forces with frozen hearts. Their reign of terror lasted for too long. A rebel group began a revolution against the six Kings. The war went on for fifteen years. The Kings of Exoplanet, as smart as they were, overplayed their greatest hand over the rebels. The loyalty of their subjects.  
The citizens agreed with the Mutineers and set their differences aside to overthrow these horrible leaders. When it was all said and done, the six Kings realized their mistake. They liberated these individuals to rule with peace, they had broken their own promise to their people. Restoring what they had broken, they placed their weapons aside to save whatever honor they had left.  
Meeting the six Mutineers at the last battleground, what would soon be the home of Elder Hall. The six Kings offered some of their own power to the six leading rebels. The six were going to refuse, however, they knew they could keep the older six in line with that power with some conditions, they then accepted the offer. Becoming the Royals of Mind, Light, Thunder, Travel, Time, and Life. The first change the Queen of Life wanted to implement, was the changing of their title from Royal to Guardian. 

It established a friendlier rule, something the citizens could trust. Another change was how much power the Guardians possessed. None of the Guardians had an idea to alter this problem. The Guardian of Time remembered something he had read in a book a long time ago. There was a way to transfer this power without time moving, although he knew it was very dangerous. 

Deciding Exoplanet needed the power to be distributed evenly, for new apprentices to be created instead of appointed, he knew his life was nowhere near more important than the people of Exoplanet, and it couldn’t be known if another power would come and do exactly what the original six had done. The Guardian of Time knew what had to be done, he loved the Guardian of Life, she was the main reason he wanted to make sure Exoplanet had a bright future. He came from the part of Exoplanet that farmed for the six Kings, that’s when he met the Guardian of Life. She was the original rebel, she hated the six Kings for abusing their power, and sought to change it. Going to the place where he grew up, he found the tree where he met the Guardian of Life. 

The tree, of course, was too big to move now. Asking his parents what kind of tree it was, he brought a smaller one back to the meeting place of Guardians. He didn’t explain the whole plan to the Guardians, he only told them what they needed to know. Agreeing to the plan the tree was placed in the middle of the area. The twelve surrounded this baby tree, letting the Guardian of Life start, she created a huge tree in its place.  
The eleven Guardians started placing their power within the roots of the tree. The Guardian of Life, although a little weak from the previous release of power, still tried her luck. The Guardian of Time stopped everything, besides the other eleven Guardians, and pushed himself as hard as he could. The tree became more powerful as the Guardians gave it their all. Ten of the Guardians stopped when they could no longer give it their all. 

Two continued, determined to make sure another war like this never happened again, the two continued to fight against all odds. Despite the calls from the other Guardians, the two continued until their power consumed them. Before disappearing completely, the two dying Guardians embraced each other. Before their power entirely consumed them, they spoke their dying words to the other Guardians, what would become the axiom of Guardians to come, “Live Kindly, Suffer Pride, Respect All.”

The passing of the two Guardians was hard on both the citizens and the remaining Guardians. Because of the death of two Guardians, the Guardian Code was created. In honor of the late Guardian of Life, the tree was renamed as the Tree of Life and a significant amount of power was put into small Guardian Pendants. Helping along the Tree’s new power, they helped the tree create life, just as the Guardian of Life wanted. It was ancient magic and the power of love that the entire population on Exoplanet made the Tree continue to create life. Using this new knowledge of the Tree, the remaining ten Guardians created two important buildings together, the Guardian Hall and the Elder Hall. 

When all the first twelve Apprentices were born, all of the Guardians took it upon themselves to raise them properly and to help them with their powers from destroying them. When their apprentices had surpassed them in terms of power and honor, they stepped down, all of their remaining power made its new home in the apprentice’s adornments making them the new Guardians. Eventually, their own apprentices where created and the Elders took on the role of helping the young kids until they could no longer help the Guardians. When the last Elder passed, the Elder of Mind, smiled. Her last words being, “My friends, my students, the citizens of this wondrous planet, the time has come for me to join my friends and I shall now give my existence to the Tree of Life. All that I ask is that you take my Sister’s words to heart and that you will always live by them, and protect all from injustice and destruction.” the original Guardian of Life was the Elder of Mind’s older sister. 

There was Peace for a long time, before the second major war of Exoplanet, but the time for change came again. After the War of Water and Mind, the Guardian Angels and the Sectors were created. In honor of the love the original Guardians of Life and Time, the streets were painted for the other. The Guardian of Life loved the color maroon and so the streets of Interis were painted maroon. The Guardian of Time, however, loved the color light green. 

The streets of Vitae were forever light green. This was originally done to honor their bravery and love for each other and Exoplanet. Some of the apprentices also wanted to honor the other Guardians as well. All the Sectors were then painted to honor the original twelve. Eventually, the streets were not enough for the love the citizens shared and asked the new Guardians if they could make the buildings the same as the streets, a tribute to all that fought in the wars against the Guardians. 

Looking upon Interis now, Junmyeon was glad the two left Exoplanet happily and with peace in their heart. 

“Junmyeon, are you ready to go see Zitao? Your kind of spacing out right now.” Yifan waved his hand in front of Junmyeon’s face. 

“Of course, let’s go in and see him.” Junmyeon smiled at Yifan, then to Minyoung. 

Stepping up to the door, Yifan knocked on it and waited for Zitao to open it and let them in. 

“Yifan, Junmyeon, Minyoung, nice to see you all! Please come in!” Almost pushing the three of them in. 

“Uncle Tao!” Minyoung squirmed her way away from Junmyeon and ran to Zitao.

“Hello, little one!” Zitao picked Minyoung up and spun her around. 

“Has anything seemed off?” Junmyeon asked fearfully.

“Nothing so far.” Zitao answered cheerfully. 

Placing Minyoung down carefully, the four of them turned to the living room in Zitao’s home. The three adults talked about what the future may hold, while Minyoung played with the devices Zitao had found when he went on a trip to the outskirts of Interis. About two hours into their conversation, all their adornments started glowing their representative colors. The Elders were calling them to Elder Hall.  
“Minyoungie, we have to go to the Elder Hall.” Junmyeon stood up and held out his arms for Minyoung to hop into them. 

The three appeared at Elder Hall within a few seconds, looking around, Junmyeon noticed all the others were also here except Chanyeol. Placing Minyoung down, she ran to go see Sungbin, LuYin and Soojin were off to the side by their Guardian Angels. Minyoung and Sungbin went over to their Guardian Angels, when the children had left the room, the Elders emerged. Stepping forward, the Elder of Fire, smiled. 

“Today, we welcome another apprentice into our lives, the Apprentice of Fire is ready to start her training.” His booming voice declared for all to hear. 

The Guardians dropped to one knee, in front of their superiors, and magic wrapped around them all. Clothing them in golden robes with their representative colors as decorative ropes around their waists. The golden doors, behind the Elders, opened slowly. A small girl about the age of eight appeared in a fiery red dress, she happily walked over to the Elder of Fire. The doors behind the Guardians opened slowly, Chanyeol walked in dressed in his own golden and crimson robe. All the Elders gave their wisdom to the young apprentice and their expectations to Chanyeol. 

The ceremony lasted about an hour. When the two met each other in the middle of the room. Chanyeol kneeled in front of the little girl and smiled at her. She dove forward and wrapped her arms around Chanyeol’s neck. The other Guardians stood up and they all said welcome to the new apprentice with the Elders. The Elder of Fire smiled at his novice and the new apprentice.

“Chanyeol, I hope you teach Seyeon all that I have taught, along with raising her with patience and honor.” The Elder of Fire smiled upon the two of them. 

“I will raise her as you had raised me.” Chanyeol bowed to the Elder of Fire. 

After the ceremony was complete, and the little girl met all her uncles, the Guardian Angel appeared. Holding her hand out for the little girl, she took Seyeon to meet the other apprentices. When the Elders left the Guardians to talk, Baekhyun started screaming with delight and attacked Chanyeol happily. Hopping on to his back, Baekhyun screamed about how happy he was for Chanyeol and how he couldn’t wait for his turn in the ceremony. 

Junmyeon smiled from the side, the apprentice ceremony wasn’t created until after Jongin’s first apprentice passed away due to illness. The Elders decided all the apprentices that made it through to their Guardian, needed to be celebrated properly. They asked Jongin if this was a good idea, and he agreed with eagerness. When the Guardian Angels reappeared, the apprentices could go home with their Guardian. Minyoung ran up to Junmyeon, telling him all about how cool and nice the new girl is. The ceremony robes were taken away by bursts of light and they were left with their normal apparel. The Guardians said their goodbyes, as did the apprentices, they all went home to their Sectors for a good night’s rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here is number three! I hope you all like it~


	4. The Phoenix (M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains foul language and mentions of a characters death

IV.  
Chanyeol

The Phoenix rises from the ashes, as majestic as it appears, it burns the bird back to life with fires from hell.

Looking out his kitchen window, Chanyeol smiled. He was the luckiest out of all the Guardians, or at least he thought so. Yesterday, he met his apprentice for the first time. As soon as he saw the small girl, his world was suddenly complete. Her name is Seyeon, she had black hair, and red eyes just like him. 

He couldn’t imagine a better apprentice when they returned home, they sat and talked for hours. She loves the color red, hugs, and singing. She is more mature than Chanyeol thought she might be. After talking, they sat in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. He knew his apprentice wouldn’t be as small as some of the others. 

The element of fire is one of the hardest to tame, it is also one of the most dangerous. All of the Guardians had rooms ready for their apprentices. Chanyeol looked away from the beautiful scenery of Lavar when he heard a sound behind him. Seyeon waved excitedly, her pajamas were a little bigger than she was, giving her slight “sweater paws”, it was an adorable sight. 

“Good Morning, Father.” Seyeon ran up to him excitedly.

“Good Morning Seyeon! Are you ready to go to the party today?!” Chanyeol hugged her happily.

“I’m not sure I should go, I don’t really know her, and I don’t even have a gift.” Seyeon sadly sighed. 

“Nonsense, to Yinnie, your presence is more than enough.” Chanyeol reassured her.

“Are you sure it’ll be okay?” Seyeon still seemed a little unsure. 

“Of course!” Chanyeol squeezed her tightly and then released her. 

Seyeon smiled and rolled her eyes slightly, she left the room, so she could go get dressed. Chanyeol turned around so he could make breakfast real quick. Today, thankfully, the Guardians don’t have a lot to do besides a meeting during the night. Luhan invited the Guardians and the Apprentices, to their home in Fernis, for Yin’s birthday. Seyeon came back and sat down at the table. 

“What time is her party?” Seyeon asked curiously. 

“I think we will head over after we are done eating breakfast.” Chanyeol supposed.

After setting the table Chanyeol walked away so he could get changed for the day. Returning to Seyeon, who surprisingly was already cleaning up, he sat down with a sad expression. His food was missing and Seyeon was putting all of the dishes in the sink. Apparently, she noticed his presence and smiled at him. 

“Ready to go?” Seyeon asked with a giant smile.

“Yeah… I suppose we should get going huh?” Chanyeol was hungry, but she looked so excited.

Chanyeol held out his hand for Seyeon, messing with the Portwatch he finally got to Luhan’s Sector. Covering her ears, Seyeon closed her eyes, Chanyeol made a mental note to talk to Jongdae about that white noise problem. Seyeon opened her eyes and was instantly amazed. Chanyeol noticed how quiet Seyeon had gotten, looking down at her, he noticed how her crimson eyes sparkled with curiosity and wonder. Apprentices are not allowed outside of the Elder Hall until the Elders deem them ready. After the apprentice ceremony, Seyeon wanted to go to her new home and have a quiet night with her father. Fernis is a beautiful place. The streets of Fernis are covered with a ravishing lustrous silver coating. The streets of their own home are covered with a vicious scarlet coating. It was a nice change to see a color so spotless. He loves his representative color but after all, it’s a little harsh to the eyes. Fernis has monstrous buildings, a tribute to past guardians, the people of Fernis believe that the Guardians of the past are continuously watching over the people of their Sectors. These buildings were made for Luhan’s mentor in honor of his bravery and kindness. 

“It’s so beautiful.” Seyeon smiled brightly.

“It’s alright, I prefer Lavar,” Chanyeol said teasingly.

Seyeon pushed him slightly, not amused by his joke attempt. 

“Alright, let’s go in.” Chanyeol held out his hand for Seyeon to grab.

The two of them were early, Chanyeol knew Luhan wouldn’t mind. Walking into the house, they took their shoes off at the door and Chanyeol grabbed her coat, so he could hang it up.

“Luhan!” Chanyeol called out, hoping to startle the other. 

“Chanyeol? You’re early!” Luhan yelled out from the kitchen. 

Chanyeol heard footsteps running toward him and Seyeon. 

“Appa, Seyeon is here!” Little LuYin yelled out. 

LuYin popped out from around the corner and jumped at Seyeon. 

“Hello, Seyeon!” Yinnie said happily. 

“Hello Yinnie, I’m sorry that I don’t have a present,” Seyeon said sadly. 

“The best present possible is you being here!” LuYin shook her head and hugged Seyeon tighter.

Chanyeol chuckled at the two girls and walked into the kitchen, Luhan was putting some finishing touches on LuYin’s cake. It was a three-tiered cake, the silver frosting sparkled everywhere the light touched, eight silver and gold candles surrounded the edge of cake. It looked sweet enough to require a years’ worth of dentistry if some ate the whole thing all alone. 

“Looks great, Luhan.” Chanyeol reached forward to swipe some frosting from it, only to have his hand slapped away. 

“Not yet, Chanyeol, this is not for you.” Luhan scolded lightly. 

“No fun…” Chanyeol pouted. 

Luhan and Chanyeol turned on their heels, the girls started yelling in the living room. Peeking around the corner, Chanyeol and Luhan smiled when they saw Jongdae, Soojin, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo all come in together. Soojin ran to LuYin and Seyeon, hugging the two of them tightly. 

“Soojin, I am so happy you came!” LuYin said happily.

“Appa made me special gloves so Minyoung doesn’t have to worry about my sparks!” Soojin exclaimed. 

Thrusting her hands out so her friends could see the cool new accessory. The gloves were golden with black wires all around her fingers and her palm. The wires imitated her veins underneath the material. The design of the gloves would take her sparks and safely store the energy in the golden part of the gloves. The energy would allow the gloves to glow with energy, but due to the material coating the outside and inside of it, the energy is safely tucked away with no chance of it being able to hurt anyone. 

A little later, Zitao, Yifan, Jongin, Sehun, Yixing, Minseok, and Sungbin arrived, leaving only Junmyeon and Minyoung. When the remaining two arrived Jongdae told Soojin to go and talk to Minyoung. Both Jongdae and Junmyeon had a conversation about the gloves, so when the time came, Junmyeon was well aware of what was going on. LuYin went to her two uncles, pleading for Jongdae to come out with a way for Soojin and Minyoung to be friends sooner. This was the present she wanted from Jongdae and Junmyeon. The two had been testing these gloves for months, lots of failed tests occurred before they were confident in the accessories. Junmyeon stood next to Jongdae as Soojin slowly made her way to Minyoung, who happened to be talking with Sungbin, hesitantly she looked at her father and her uncle. Both smiled and nodded reassuringly to Soojin. Taking a deep breath, she walked strongly over to Sungbin and Minyoung. LuYin watched with hope sparkling in her eyes. Gripping on to Luhan’s hand, she watched her wish unfold before her very eyes. Soojin reached out to Minyoung. The air was thick with anticipation, LuYin felt like she was choking even though there was plenty of air around her. Time seemed to freeze around all of them as Soojin’s hand fell gently on to Minyoung’s shoulder. Luhan glanced over at Zitao and knew time was continuing around them, this was real. 

Minyoung turned around, her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Soojin touching her shoulder. Soojin’s breathing had quickened when she realized nothing bad was happening. Minyoung smiled brightly and launched herself into the older girl’s arms. All of the Guardians and the apprentices let out the breath they were all holding on to. Soojin held the younger girl tightly. Sungbin, LuYin, joined in the hug as well leaving Seyeon to smile at the scene before her. LuYin noticed they were missing a person in their group hug. 

“Seyeon, it’s not complete without you,” LuYin said quickly and demanded the older girl join them.

The Guardians looked upon this scene warmly with loving eyes. Until Chanyeol noticed that something was burning. 

“Luhan, is something burning?” Chanyeol broke the silence and looked over at the elder. 

“Oh shit, the food!” Luhan yelled and bolted to the kitchen. 

Sehun and Jongin started laughing so much that their ribs started hurting. They fell to the floor when LuYin ran after her father to scold him for cursing in front of Soojin and Minyoung. The other Guardians cracked a smile and the three troublemakers wouldn’t allow Luhan to forget what he said throughout the rest of the day. The party went until the girls could no longer stand on their own two feet. After hours of playing with each other, throwing Luhan’s lovely cake at one another, and of course messing with their fathers, the girls all fell asleep on the floor of the living room. Minseok quietly reached down and gently picked up Sungbin. 

“Thank you for inviting us, Luhan. Sungbin and I had a fun time.” Minseok smiled at the younger man before turning his Portwatch to Flayke and disappearing. 

Chanyeol looked at the remaining children and smiled sweetly at the sight before him. Seyeon and LuYin had fallen asleep against each other Soojin and Minyoung were wrapped up in each other’s arms. 

“They’re so adorable, I don’t want to move them.” Jongdae sighed. 

Junmyeon chuckled and nodded in agreement. 

“Thank you Jongdae, thank you Junmyeon, I know it must have been really hard to make those gloves. It made LuYin really happy.” Luhan beamed at the other two Guardians.

After debating on waking the girls or letting them sleep, Jongdae and Junmyeon reached down quietly to pick up both Minyoung and Soojin. After a few minutes, the other Guardians all left, leaving Luhan and Chanyeol. The two of them gently picked up the two girls and walked to LuYin’s room. Chanyeol wasn’t planning on leaving just yet. Placing the two girls gently under the covers, the two Guardians walked back to the kitchen. 

“You and Seyeon seem to be clicking alright,” Luhan commented while he poured the two of them some coffee. 

“She hasn’t been here very long, but I don’t feel lonely anymore. When I see her it’s like I found a piece that’s been missing for a long time.” Chanyeol took his mug and took a small sip from it. 

“I know exactly what you mean, I went through the same thing when I saw LuYin.” Luhan smiled at the memory. 

They sat down at the kitchen table and basked in each other’s company. Chanyeol couldn’t believe this was all real, just two days ago he didn’t know Seyeon’s name, then his pendant started to glow, it felt like his world was finally coming together. Chanyeol closed his eyes and remembered back to the ceremony. 

After Jongdae and Baekhyun told him to go to the Elder Hall, he messed with his Portwatch and arrived as soon as he could. The Elder of Fire was standing in the middle of the front room. Chanyeol walked further into the room, standing behind his father figure. 

“Chanyeol, my time is coming to an end. Today is the day you will meet your daughter. Her name is Seyeon, she reminds me of when you were younger. So eager to learn, train her well Chanyeol. Show her love and compassion, just as I did with you.” The Elder turned to his son and smiled. 

He grew into a fine young man, so responsible, well when he wasn’t near Jongdae and Baekhyun that is. The Elder of Fire was so proud of his apprentice, his scarlet eyes glowed with love, pride, and happiness all at the same time. Chanyeol felt tears prickling at the edge of his eyes. He was so excited about meeting his apprentice he completely forgot this meant losing his father. 

“Do not cry young one. This is a happy occasion.” The Elder of Fire smiled endearingly, wiping away his son's tears before they had a chance to complete their journey. 

Forgetting about the respect protocol’s Chanyeol launched himself at his father figure, who opened his arms for the young man. Hugging his son tightly, he also felt tears escape from his own eyes. He held his son for as long as he could before letting go and turning Chanyeol’s face to his own. 

“My son, I am so proud of everything you have accomplished. I have no doubt you are ready to raise Seyeon and be a good father to her. Never forget how strong you are, Chanyeol.” The Elder of Fire spoke softly. 

“Why do you have to go? How will I do this without you?” Chanyeol looked into the scarlet eyes of his father, fear burning brightly in his own eyes. 

“Chanyeol, you are much stronger than you know. I must leave this place; my time is ending quickly. You have wonderful friends to help you through this. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. I know you will do a fantastic job, after all, I did raise you.” The Elder of Fire chuckled. 

Chanyeol closed his eyes when the Elder of Fire raised his hands, flames surrounded Chanyeol leaving behind the crimson and gold robe made for the apprentice ceremony. The robe sparkled with thousands of little flames embedded into the fabric. The golden symbols glowed around his waist. Opening his eyes to look at his father once more, Chanyeol’s eyes burned brightly into his fathers own fading flames. 

“Never forget how much I love you, son.” The Elder of Fire leaned forward and kissed his son’s forehead.

Chanyeol could feel his father’s once warm hands, they were almost as cold as Minseok’s skin. His father flame was disappearing right before his very eyes. 

“I love you too, Father,” Chanyeol whispered. 

Chanyeol closed his eyes and allowed one more tear to fall before he heard the other Guardians arriving. 

“It is time Chanyeol.” His father stepped back and nodded to the younger man. 

Leaving Chanyeol in the hall room. Chanyeol walked away from the center of the room and headed to the correct door for the ceremony. The door was big and shined with the golden symbols of past Guardians. His mentor's symbol was now among the Greats of the Past. Sitting right beside Luhan’s mentor, his father symbols shined a little brighter. 

It was just recently added to the door. Chanyeol touched it softly it was ice cold to the touch making him shiver slightly, this was it. His father was dying, and he was going to finally meet his daughter. Feelings of sorrow and joy fought against each other inside of him. Pushing away his thoughts, he put his arms down to his side and waited for the door to open. 

He smiled when he heard his father’s voice boom throughout the ceremony room. The door opened slowly revealing him to the room filled with Elders and Guardians. He walked in slowly, his scarlet eyes shined brightly against the contrast of his dark eyelashes. The room suddenly burst into a crimson hue. The once golden symbols of the past Guardians that decorated the walls, turned into blood red. 

The blue flames around the corners of the room turned into dark red flames. Chanyeol walked through the path that was in between his Guardian brothers, not stopping until he was in front of Seyeon and the Elder of Fire. Just like his own robe, Seyeon’s dress was covered in little youthful flames, making her dress sparkle despite the color of the lights changing to red. Seeing how nervous she seemed to be, Chanyeol smiled at her gently. Hoping to ease her little might some. The Elder of Fire began talking to the ceiling, asking the previous Guardians for their blessing their watchful gaze to stay upon the two young souls. 

“I ask the Greats above, watch over these two filled with youth. My blessing has been given to my apprentice as he steps into the shoes I once filled.” Finishing he looked down to Chanyeol and Seyeon. 

Chanyeol kneeled before the young girl and held out his hands so she could hold on to them. 

“Park Chanyeol, the Great Guardians of the Past demand you look out for this young apprentice with all of your compassion and kindness. You are tasked with training the next generation of the Fire Guardian. The Spirit of the Phoenix burns brightly within you both, harness that power and become one with the Fire Guardians of the Past.” Ending the ceremony with a blessing of his own, the Elder of Fire retreated so the other Elders could follow. 

Chanyeol hugged Seyeon tightly and smiled happily when she returned the hug with her own arms. The Guardian Angel of Fire walked up to the two other them slowly. Holding her hand out for the little girl to take, she was going to meet the other apprentices in the other room. Chanyeol stood up and encouraged her to take the Guardian Angel’s hand. As soon as the two girls were out of earshot, Baekhyun ran up to his friend and jumped on his back screaming about how proud he was and how cool Chanyeol looked. Jongdae joined in the celebration while the other Guardians congratulated Chanyeol normally. Bright lights caused their ceremonious outfits to turn back into their casual wear. After a while, all of the Guardian Angels appeared with their apprentices. After all of his brothers had left Chanyeol looked at Seyeon and smiled. 

“It’s time to go home, Seyeon.” Leaning down he picked her up. 

She leaned her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head under his chin. He smiled contently and took one last look at the hall before turning his Portwatch to Lavar. That night, when he was putting Seyeon to bed, a devastating ache exploded in his chest. He stumbled to his own room, closing the door, he fell and clutched his chest. Trying to ease the pain, he curled into himself. 

His father had officially left, he was finally joining his friend within the Tree of Life. Chanyeol felt scolding tears fall down his face as he cried. This pain, it felt worse than being burned alive. Staggering to his bed, he sadly got under the covers. As he closed his eyes for the night, he felt a cool calmness wash over him.  
His father was giving him peace before leaving for good. Giving him dreams of all the fun times the two had together. Only then did his father leave Exoplanet for good. 

Chanyeol smiled unhappily at the memory. Luahn noticed how quiet the younger one had gotten, scooting his chair closer to Chanyeol he offered some comfort. Knowing how much it hurt when his own mentor had left him. The two sat in silence comforting each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think of this story! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	5. A Calming Breeze (M)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains cursing, fighting, and blood. Please do not read if you are not comfortable with this

V.

Sehun

 

**_The calming breeze runs through the land, unfortunately, the freedom of that breeze is decided based on the world’s decision._ **

It had been a year since the last apprentice ceremony, Sehun didn’t think he would ever get an apprentice. He didn’t believe he deserved one, he hasn’t done anything mentor worthy. All of his thoughts aside, he knew one day it had to happen. He wasn’t expecting it to be on the day when he was planning to rest. Sehun was planning on staying in his bed all day, and suddenly the Portwatch started vibrating.

Thinking it was one of his older brothers, he placed the portwatch aside and turned away from it. Falling back into a deep sleep. About an hour later, Sehun was startled awake. Looking around the room he couldn’t see anything that would startle him like that. His portwatch was still pulsating, looking over at it he noticed the color was Jade.

Eyes becoming wide with surprise and happiness, he realized that meant the Elder Hall was calling him. How long has he made them wait? He didn’t want to know the answer to that question. Hopping quickly out of bed, he got dressed and turned the Portwatch to the Elder Hall. As he arrived, he noticed all the other Guardians were already here.

A small girl in a jade colored dress stood in the middle of it all. The small dress had his symbol in golden animation as if it was a breeze all on its own. He noticed there were darker spots near the top, teardrops. The little girl was crying, walking toward her quickly he could hear what she was saying, and it broke his heart.

“A-Appa don’t w-want me…” The young girl had to be around four at the time.

Falling to his knees in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her. Feeling her cling to him made him hold her tighter.

“I’m sorry, Appa was running late, bad Appa.” He scolded himself to make the little girl giggle.

“Sehun, glad you could join us.” The Elder of Wind sassed him teasingly.

“Can we start this again? I want to do this properly, she deserves that.” Sehun ignored the sassy comment from his mother figure.

“Of course, follow me Sehun.” Noticing how heartbroken her son was, the Elder of Wind decided to drop the sassy attitude.

Sehun started to walk away from the little girl. She started to panic because he started walking away from her. The Elder of Wind kneeled to the little girl and explained that everything will be alright.

“We’ll be right back young one.” The Elder of Wind said sweetly.

Sehun didn’t want to leave her, but he had to correct his mistake. Following his mother quickly, they both exited the room through the huge double doors. The Elder of Wind stood in the middle of the room, in the same spot the other Elders stood not too long ago. Two jade tornadoes surrounded the two of them, leaving them in beautiful Jade robes. The Elder’s robe was golden with jade colored symbols surrounding her like the start of a hurricane. Sehun looked down at his own robe and was amazed, the robe itself was covered in sparkling jade stones. The golden symbols wrapped around him like a summer breeze. The Elder of Wind held something away from his sight.

“Oh Sehun, the time has come. I believe little Youngin is waiting.” The Elder of Wind smiled at her son.

She was proud of the way she raised him. He knew how to have fun, but also knew when he needed to be serious as well. She has no doubt that he will raise little Youngin well. She was a little sad that she wasn’t going to be able to watch how well he does in person. Walking calmly for Sehun, she held something with both of her hands. It shined when the light struck it. Opening her palms, there was a hairband with his symbol on it. It was covered in thousands of little diamonds, making it shine no matter which way it turned.

“I made this years ago when Youngin came into my life. Sehun, I am trusting you to raise her just as I raise you. Don’t let her be too serious all the time. She has a hard time speaking to others, she is afraid of others. I trust you will help her through her fears of other people. She will need connections to keep her alive.” Sehun was a little confused on why she sounded so serious.

Opening his hands, the hairband was gently placed inside them. Sehun looked up at his mother figure. He could tell she knew something that he didn’t.

“Mother, what do you mean?” Sehun asked quickly.

“It has come to the attention of the remaining Elders that a few of the Guardians are keeping secrets from you and the others. I can’t tell you who or why. This is something you all need to work together in order to solve. This is all I can share with you now, we are running out of time, my son.” The Elder of Wind explained.

Sehun was a little disappointed in her answer, but he understood that it was no longer her job to help him figure things out. The Guardians had to do this alone. Holding on to the little hairband, the two of them headed for the huge double doors once again. Before Sehun walked through them, he felt his mother pull him back. She wrapped him in a tight hug. The Elder was hiding her tears from her son.

“I’m proud of you Oh Sehun. Take care of your brothers and Youngin, okay?” She whispered to her son.

Sehun immediately hugged his mother tightly. He felt tears of his own well up in his eyes. He knew this would be the last time he ever saw her. The Elder of Wind chuckled and let go, of course, her son would make this hard on her. It’s what he did best.

“Oh Sehun, stop crying child.” The Elder teased him and wiped his tears away.

“Only after you do.” Sehun smiled and wiped away his mother’s tears.

The two of them stayed in each other’s presence for a little longer. After a small while, the Elder of Wind took a step back and turned to the door that she had to walk through. Before she had a chance to step through it, Sehun called out to her.

“Mother, you look beautiful tonight. The Elder of Mind will be surprised when he sees you again.” Sehun smiled at his mother.

“Oh, my dear, I always look beautiful. Especially for that old fool. I am ready to see him again though, I have missed him very much.” The Elder of Wind joked.

The Elder of Wind took one last look at her son and stepped through the Elder door. Sehun turned to the vast double doors. His mother’s symbol shined among the others, it was the prettiest as it was just recently added. Sehun held onto the hairband and took a deep breath, wiping away any remaining tears. The doors opened. All of the remaining Elders stood in their designated spots. His mother in the middle of the ceremony with the little girl from before.

Youngin, my mother always has great taste when it comes to naming the people she loves.

Sehun stepped through the doors and saw all of his brothers in their beautiful robes. As soon as he was in the room, a vast gust of wind slammed the door behind him, blowing out all of the flames in the room and relighting them as jade flames. The room became a beautiful color of jade as the wind violently finally made its changes. Sehun knew his element was angry that he made Youngin wait. Youngin’s dress was a beautiful, yet destructive looking jade hurricane just like his own robe. Walking quickly, to the small girl, he looked up at his mother. She smiled at him and began the ceremony.

“Welcome one and all. Today we welcome the Apprentice of Wind. Oh Youngin, welcome to the world of Guardians that you will come to love in due time. Oh Sehun, I trust you to train and raise Youngin as I raised you. Raise her with as much love as you have. Show her how to be serious but remember to show her how to have fun as well. I can no longer guide you on your journey, but I will always be within the element that brought us together. If you ever feel lost, turn to the wind. I will be right there beside you.” The Elder of Wind smiled at her son.

“I promise to raise her with as much love as I have. I promise to be a father to her and make you proud.” Sehun said seriously.

Sehun stepped forward to Youngin and kneeled in front of her. Everyone knew he wasn’t really one for a lot of words in front of everybody. Pulling out the hairband, he gently moved her hair out of her face and placed upon the crown of her head. Standing once again, he held out his hand for her little one. Looking back to the Elder of Wind, he smiled at his mother.

She was glowing, this was the last Sehun would ever see her in person again, but she didn’t look upset. She looked at him with glowing bright green eyes with love and pride filling them. The Elder of Wind called upon the past Guardians and asked for them to watch over all of the Guardians and their Apprentices. Then the ceremony ended, a big jade tornado appeared and took away the jade colored lights and flames from the room. Turning it back to the way it was before the ceremony began.

The Guardian Angel of Wind walked up to Sehun will her gaze low. Sehun allowed her to take Youngin’s hand. Youngin looked panicked, turning to Sehun, fear dominating her eyes. Sehun dropped to his knees and opened her arms for the little girl to run into. The ceremony robes disappeared in a bright light when she collided with him. Hugging her tightly, he whispered reassuring words in her ears.

“A-Appa, why g-go?” Youngin hiccupped sadly.

“You’re going to meet some very nice girls, they are your friends,” Sehun explained softly, wiping away her little tears.

“Appa, no want to.” Her tears started to lessen.

“Youngin, trust Appa, soon we will be brought together again. It’ll be like we were never apart.” Sehun smiled when he saw her start to understand she was not getting out of this.

“Okay, Appa.” Youngin sighed and looked at the Guardian Angel.

Holding out her hand, Youngin took the Guardian Angel’s hand and followed her to the Apprentice room. Sehun turned around to face his brothers. Junmyeon was not happy. Looking down at the ground, Sehun knew he was in trouble.

“Oh Sehun, you made her wait for two hours.” Junmyeon’s tone made him feel horrible.

“There is no excuse for what I’ve done. The look on her face when I walked in was punishment enough.” Sehun acknowledged his mistake head on, he knew this was not the time for smart ass comments.

Junmyeon knew that there was nothing he could say that would make Sehun feel worse than when he walked in and saw his little girl’s tears. If it was him and he saw Minyoung crying like that, he’d hate himself too. Baekhyun decided that he wanted to break the silence and jumped on Sehun’s back. Starting to scream about how happy he was for Sehun, the others laughed at the sudden outburst.

After a while of the Guardians talking and laughing with each other, it started getting late. Sehun knew that Youngin would be getting tired. The Guardian Angels must have read their minds. They soon appeared from the Apprentice room with the apprentices right behind them. Waiting for his turn to get Youngin from the Guardian Angel, all of his older brothers had left the Elder Hall. Youngin ran into his arms and he picked her up carefully. Nodding his acknowledgment to the Guardian Angel, he set his Portwatch to Aeria, taking Youngin home.

Aeria was beautiful at night when all the lights of the city shut off and the only light present was the stars in the sky. Aeria had a curfew at night, it was originally so Sehun could sleep without being interrupted. Soon after the curfew was put in place, Sehun saw the beauty of the night sky for the first time. He loved seeing the stars in the sky. Aeria was the only sector that has a set curfew that everyone follows.

Walking quietly into his home, he headed straight for the room that was made for Youngin. Sehun placed her gently in her bed and covered her up. Before completely leaving the room, Sehun looked back at little Youngin and smiled. Sehun walked into his living room, he wasn’t quite tired just yet. Turning on his light, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Jongin just sitting there.

“Good God!” Sehun exclaimed holding his heart.

“Nope, not God, just me.” Jongin smiled at his younger brother.

“Warn a guy, damn.” Sehun rolled his eyes.

Sehun looked at Jongin, something felt off. Jongin stood up and walked over briskly. Not knowing what to do, Sehun backed up slightly. The way Jongin looked at him, it was like a lion looking at its prey.

“J-Jongin?” Sehun was afraid of his older brother, that’s something he is not used to.

“Oh Sehun, you don’t know how lucky you are. Everyone loves you. Hell, you even have an apprentice now.” Jongin growled at the younger man.

“Jongin, why are you saying this to me?” Sehun demanded.

Jongin looked up from the ground and into Sehun’s eyes. The gaze that met his was cold and dangerous. His eyes were crimson red. Sehun gasped with horror and stepped back some more, his heart was beating a million miles an hour. He tried to signal a distress message to Junmyeon. Jongin appeared right in front of him, ripping off his portwatch and throwing it across the room.

“J-Jongin-” Before Sehun could say anything else, Jongin clenched his fist and right-hooked Sehun.

There was blood running down Sehun’s face, he looked down and noticed his pendant was gone. Jongin brought him out of his thoughts with another punch to the face. Slamming the younger man into the wall behind him, Jongin grabbed his collar and got close to his now bleeding face.

“What an ungrateful brat,” Jongin growled in Sehun’s face.

Jongin ported a few feet away from the wall, still holding Sehun, he threw the younger man at his glass coffee table. Glass shatters around Sehun, his head hit the hardwood floor. Sehun couldn’t hear anything anymore. Jongin appeared in his vision, he tried to defend himself, only to get continuous right and left hooks. Jongin wasn’t going to give him a chance to defend himself. Blood was splattered everywhere like a crimson river had broken through a dam. Sehun’s last thought before he lost to blood loss was Youngin.

A scream brought Jongin out of his daze. Turning rapidly, Jongin growled viciously at the new presence. It was Youngin. The little girl had tears hastily falling down her face. She had come out of her room to see what all the noise was.

Her father was laying on his] back, there were glass and blood everywhere. Jongin saw the fear dominating her eyes, he was confused as to why she was looking at him like that. This Jongin didn’t have crimson eyes. Standing up quickly, still looking at Youngin, he tried to move towards her.

Why is Youngin crying? Every step Jongin tried moving closer to her, she took seven steps back. Jongin looked down at his hands and was horrified to see scarlet blood covering his hands like a painting. Looking behind him, seeing Sehun unconscious with blood and glass surrounding him, it killed Jongin.

Falling to his knees, he crawled to his younger brother, gently putting arms behind Sehun’s shoulders, he placed Sehun in his arms. Using his slightly less bloody hand, he wiped Sehun’s face as best as he could. Sehun’s hair now drenched and caked with blood.

“S-Sehun?” Jongin tried calling for the younger man to wake him up.

Sehun didn’t stir, his breathing was shallower than Jongin would have liked. Jongin didn’t know when the hot flaming tears started falling from his eyes until they landed on Sehun’s cheeks, making it look as if his younger brother was also crying. Turning to Youngin, he held out his hand for the little four-year-old.

“Younginnie, I know you’re afraid of me right now, but we have to get Appa to Uncle Xing. I need to trust me, okay?” Jongin said desperately.

“A-Appa be okay?” Youngin hiccupped.

“Yes, of course, but we need to go right now,” Jongin said quickly.

Youngin held out her little hand. As soon as their hands touched, Jongin positioned his portwatch to Vitae. Clutching on to both Sehun and Youngin tightly, he looked around and saw the clean streets of Vitae surrounding him. Standing up, he leaned down and put on arms under Sehun’s knees and one on his back, positioning Sehun’s arms around his neck and leaning Sehun’s head under his chin. He ran up to the door and kicked open. Screaming for their older brother.

Yixing came running out in his pajamas, definitely not expecting to see the two youngest completely covered in blood and little Youngin bawling her eyes out. Ru ran out after her father also horrified at the scene before her. Rushing to little Youngin, she covered the younger girl’s eyes and lead her gently out of the room. Yixing took Sehun immediately, he would ask Jongin what happened later, the only thing that mattered right now was Sehun.

Watching Yixing take Sehun to a safer place, Jongin sat down, he covered in his younger brother’s blood. He hurt Sehun, he was a monster. Jongin didn’t know why he was there in the first place, let alone why he took Sehun pendant at the apprentice ceremony. Jongin sobbed uncontrollably, he was a horrible monster that tried to kill his only younger brother and he doesn’t even know why. Youngin was afraid of him, if he was her, he would be terrified. She’s only four-years-old, it was her first day with her father and she saw him almost kill Sehun. Jongin could only hope he wasn’t too late, that Yixing still had time to save Sehun. 

Jongin had called all over their other brothers to Vitae, the girls were huddled in Ru’s room. Yixing came out to the living room a little while later. Sitting down next to Jongin, he rubbed his younger brothers back soothingly.

    “Jongin, what happened,” Junmyeon said softly.

    “I-I don’t remember. I don’t remember taking his pendant or going to Aeria. I-I don’t know.” Jongin trembled against Yixing’s hand.

    “Jongin, may I try and fins these memories in your mind?” Luhan asked softly.

    Luhan was the Guardian of Mind, this was his specialty.

    “P-Please, I don’t want to remember, I need to remember.” Jongin pleads as he took a tissue from Baekhyun.

    Luhan made Jongin look into his eyes, he needed to be very careful, it was dangerous to mess in another person’s mind.

_Luhan stood in the Elder Hall, the Elder of Travel was in front of him, wearing white. Jongin rushed into the Elder Hall, his pendant was glowing black. He didn’t even wait for the doors to open, he just ported right in. Seeing the Elder of Travel dressed in all white, it made him stop. The color white on Exoplanet, unless it is referring to Auris, meant death._

_“Father, why are you wearing white?” Jongin asked nervously, he was afraid to hear the answer._

_“My dear son, I have some bad news. The child training to be the Apprentice of Travel is no longer with us. He was a sickly child, who passed on too young.” The Elder of Travel said sadly._

_The Elder of Travel knew his son would be crushed by this news. Rushing forward, he caught his son, who fainted out of shock. The world around Luhan shimmered out of focus for a second, he was then at the first official apprentice ceremony. Seeing all of his brothers in their robes, Junmyeon was the first to have a real apprentice ceremony. It was beautiful, the Elder of Water stood in the middle of the room with the others behind. As Junmyeon walked in with his flowing cobalt robe, it looked like waves were flowing off him and onto the floor below. The light of the room changed from their normal cold blue glow to beautifully elegant cobalt flames. Little Minyoung stood in front of the Elder of Water, awaiting her father’s arrival._

_Luhan ripped his gaze from the beautiful scenery and looked at Jongin. His fists were clenched, and he gritted his teeth, a single tear had fallen from his left eye. The world around Luhan became unfocused as the scene changed yet again. This time he was in Jongin’s home. Jongin was at the foot of his bed, hands covering his eyes, wailing in despair._

_On the floor was a picture of all twelve of them when they were still on Earth, the frame was completely shattered, and the picture was ripped in half; six of them on one side, six on the others. The world became black, he could hear white noise surrounding him. Luhan fell to his knees and covered his ears with his hands. After a few seconds the noise stopped, Jongin was on the ground covering his ears just like he was a few seconds beforehand. The room glowed a bright red. The only difference was when Jongin opened his eyes, they were crimson red and on the wall behind him; the Red Force symbol appeared._

_Jongin’s pedant started to glow Jade green. It was time for apprentice ceremony. Jongin had arrived late so there was no time to greet any of his brothers, not that he wanted to anyway. He kneeled into his position next to Kyungsoo when his robe appeared. Sehun was two hours late; hearing the little girl cry made Jongin smile. It was a beautiful sound to him; his eyes were still crimson red._

_Finally, Sehun had come and the ceremony could take place. The world around Luhan changed again, this time Jongin was about to leave, not before he hugged Sehun and snatched his pendant before Chanyeol and Jongdae jumped on top of Sehun. Jongin left with a hauntingly cold smirk on his face. The younger man was now inside of Sehun’s house, about an hour after the ceremony had ended. Jongin sat in the dark living room for half an hour before Sehun finally came. Luhan stood there horrified as Sehun realized too late that he was in danger. Watching as Jongin threw Sehun’s portwatch away from, Luhan could tell Sehun knew he was in a lot of trouble._

_“J-Jongin-” Sehun was cut off before he could say anything else, then the beating took place._

_Luhan couldn’t watch the beating, he looked up when he heard a little girl scream. Looking up with terror, Luhan hoped Jongin would snap out of it for Youngin’s sake, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Jongin, she was only four-years-old. Luhan noticed that all hostility from Jongin had melted away._

Luhan gasped as he fell away from Jongin. Both of their eyes returned to normal, both men were exhausted. Luhan stood up and grabbed Jongin’s face gently.

“This was not your fault, don’t blame yourself,” Luhan said forcefully to his younger brother.

This was all of their faults, not Jongin. They didn’t help him when he needed it, they weren’t there for him when he needed their support. They made him an easy target for the Red Force. Luhan turned to all of his other brothers and looked at them seriously. None of them were ready for the words Luhan spoke next.

“The Red Force has returned.”


	6. Only The Strong Will Survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This Chapter contains violence and some language. Please do not read if you are uncomfortable with that.

VI.

Jongin

 

**_Time is simply a human construct, the only thing that truly matters is what you do with the physical time you are given._ **

Jongin didn’t know he could feel so many emotions all at once. He tried to kill Sehun, Youngin was now afraid of him, but Luhan kept saying it wasn’t his fault. Jongin stood up quickly, startling the other Guardians. They kept asking him what he was doing.

“I just, I need to go out for a little bit,” Jongin said as he shook his head to their concerns.

Before any of the others could say anything, Jongin ported away. Returning to Tempes never felt so horrible. His home, on a good day, was beautiful. It was made completely out of Onyx stones. Even though it was black, it shined like the brightest light anyone had ever laid eyes on.

Jongin walked straight into the room he made for his apprentice. Sitting on the bed, he picked up a little-stuffed animal he got from Earth. It was a small stuffed puppy. Holding it close, he laid down on the bed and cried himself to sleep.

_Jongin looked around, he was in the Elder Hall, in front of him was his mentor dressed in white._

_“I’m so sorry Jongin, he was too ill.” Jongin knew his father was talking about the boy training to be his apprentice. Jongin felt so many emotions all at once, it was too much, he fainted._

_After a couple of hours, Jongin started to stir. He could hear voices, they were speaking in hushed tones. His mentor and Yixing’s mentor were talking, but Jongin felt like there were more people in the room as well. Someone was holding on to his hand, another person was moving his hair out of his face._

_“When do you plan on telling them?” That voice was The Elder of Time._

_“Not now, it’ll kill him.” Jongin heard his own mentor growl and the hand that was holding his squeezed a little tighter_

_“This doesn’t just affect Jongin, it also affects Yifan and Zitao. This needs to be addressed before it becomes dangerous.” A voice from his side hissed, Jongin recognized it as the Dragon Elder._

_“Let him recover first. I swear to the Greats, if you tell him before he is ready you will regret it.” The Elder of Travel growled intensely._

_Jongin nearly jumped at the sound of a door slamming shut. A calm hand ran through his hair._

_“I understand you’re concerned, Daesoo; but you need to tell Jongin at some point. Don’t let him suffer longer more than he has already.” The Elder of Light whispered to The Elder of Travel._

_The Elder of Travel smiled at her concern for both him and Jongin. She always knew the right things to say. The Elder of Light placed a small kiss on the top of his head and followed the path of destruction, left behind by the pissed off Dragon Elder. Making up his mind, The Elder of Travel knew when he needed to tell Jongin the dark secret inside all of the Elders._

_Knowing how awful the other Elders felt, they all hated keeping secrets from their children. Before the Elder of Mind passed on, he shared his last vision with them. The time of annihilation was coming faster than he would have liked. Daesoo knew he had to be faster. Jongin fully woke up a couple hours later._

_“Jongin, welcome back.” The Elder of Travel smiled at his son gently._

Jongin sat up, clutching his chest tightly. He didn’t understand why he felt so frightened, the Elder of Travel never did say anything to him after he woke up. Looking around at his surrounds, he noticed the room he had made for his apprentice instead of his own room around him. Covering his eyes with his hands, he took a couple of deep breaths.

Before he even had a chance to move from his position, his Portwatch began vibrating on his wrist. The color calling him was black. The Elders were calling from the Elder Hall. Jongin instantly stood up and turned his portwatch to the hall.

Appearing in a flash of onyx, Jongin looked around expecting his father. Quickly realizing a lot more was in store for him, he saw Yifan and Zitao staring back at him. There were no Elders anywhere in sight. Yifan motioned to the younger man with an understanding smile, Zitao and Yifan didn’t know why they were there either.

Jongin quickly stood by his two older brothers. The remaining three Elders appeared with a burning flash of light. Standing in front of their sons, the three Elders smiled softly. The Elders knew it was time for their secret to be told.

“Welcome Guardian of Time, Guardian of Travel, and The Dragon Guardian, we have been keeping something important way from you all. It is time that we right our wrong, it is your right to know things that affect you.” The Dragon Elder started off.

“Before his passing, the Elder of Mind shared one final vision with us.” The Elder of Time took over.

“It is time that we share it with all of you, forgive us for keeping this secret for as long as we have.” The Elder of Travel finished.

The three remaining Elder lifted their right hands toward their sons. Glowing brightly with their representative colors, the three Guardians were surrounded. The world became painful as a swirl of onyx, maroon and auburn clawed at their eyes. Animalistic pounding slammed against their heads, causing them to gasp in pain. The three Guardians fell painfully to the floor.

Jongin gripped his head and pulled at his hair, everything that was happening hurt. It wouldn’t stop no matter what he tried. Jongin could hear someone screaming right next to his ear, shattering his eardrum with horrifying pressure. Every time he swallowed it burned like it was bleeding down his throat, warm liquid ran out of his ear. The smell of copper hung in the hair, suffocating Jongin. He soon realized, he was the one screaming, he couldn’t hear Yifan and Zitao anymore. Once the pain became too much, Jongin blacked out.

 

“J-in w-k -p.” Jongin heard a voice, it sounded so far away.

“Jongin, wake up.” It was Zitao, he felt someone holding him against their chest.

He could feel a heartbeat and someone else was whispering to him while running their finger through his hair. It had to be Yifan. Slowly the world came back to him. The first thing he saw was a very bloody Zitao. Immediately becoming concerned for Zitao, he noticed soon after that Yifan was also very bloody. Reaching up to his ears and his nose, he was also bleeding.

“W-Where are we?” Jongin winced, his throat was sore from all the screaming he did.

“We’re not sure, we woke up not too long ago.” Zitao looked around this planet they were on. This wasn’t Exoplanet, they could all feel that it wasn’t their home. 

The three Guardians quickly stood up, this place was horrifying. Bodies littered the ground; the stench of copper filled their noses. Now understanding the burning copper smell wasn’t coming from them. It wasn’t their own blood they were smelling, they are standing on a battleground. Yifan grabbed his two younger brothers and pushed them both behind him. They knew Yifan was on high alert, he had two younger brothers in a dangerous new land. Jongin and Zitao feared for anyone that wanted to test their older brother right now.

The sky was crimson red it reminded Jongin of Lavar but more sinister. The sky looked like a mirror reflecting all of the fresh blood on the ground below it. A man covered in gold walking across the bodies like they weren’t even there. He seemed to be coming to them, he even stopped in front of them.

“You have served me well, however, the Guardians are still out there. Go to Exoplanet and eliminate all of the life you detect.” This man was looking past them like they were ghosts.

Behind them was their own personal nightmare. Twilight Woods, the leader of the Red Nurses. Her black hair became sludge against her head. She was covered in blood of the innocent people below her. Her wicked smile gave Jongin shivers that crept down his back.

The last time they saw this woman was back on Earth. They almost lost Baekhyun and Sehun then. Back then they were young and cocky, they mocked the Red Force in plain sight. Being idols under a Korean entertainment company, they told their story with their songs. When the Red Force got sick of their taunting, they attacked. The boys were separated and captured.

Jongin gasped when he realized something important. The three of them were on Planet 005. This is the home of the Red Force. The Red Force killed their own citizen due to experimentation. They wanted what Exoplanet has, the Guardians. They tried making their own and ended up killing all of the citizens on Planet 005.

“The Guardians are stronger than ever now that they are back on Exoplanet.” Twilight shook her head and laughed insanely.

“Then get something that is important to the future of Exoplanet.” This mystery man grabbed her by her throat and threw her to the ground; she never stopped laughing.

The world around the three Guardians faded out of focus. They were now on Exoplanet. The Elders were all separated in different sectors. During this time, the Guardians were going to check on the surrounding planets, it was a mandatory territory check. While they were gone three children were born.

None of the Elders wanted to tell the Guardians, they knew the boys would rush home if they found out about the newborn children. Exoplanet was completely defenseless. It was the perfect time for the Red Forces to attack. The Red Forces separated into twelve different teams. They created a new gas that would knock out the Elders, not that it would take much to defeat them now anyway.

The Elders were now defenseless. Twilight lead her team through Tempes while her trusted follows attacked the other sectors. They weren’t supposed to make a scene, this was a stealth mission on their part. It wasn’t hard to find the Guardian House, the glow of the onyx stones shined for miles away. Quietly making their way into the house, Twilight and her follower waked around carefully looking for the Elder of Travel. They found him in a large room, he was holding something carefully in his arms.

After they placed their lung protectors on, Twilight let the toxin into the room. The Elder shook his head, something was wrong. Placing the small child, he was holding gently on the floor. Looking around, he took a defensive stance. The room started changing around him, the toxin slipped into his lungs. A loud bang signaled to Twilight that the Elder had fallen. Twilight walked in with her signature insane smirk. Picking up the child, she laughed loudly.

“Welcome to the team, Jisoo.” Twilight’s echoed through all of their minds.

Twilight met her team on their ship after their mission was complete. Three small children were now on board the Red Force ship. By the time the Elders woke up, the children and the Red Force was gone. The Elder of Water decided that no one was allowed to tell the Guardians what happened. It was better this way; the Guardians didn’t know about the children anyway. By the time the Guardians returned, there was no evidence that the children ever existed. Not that it mattered, another child was born.

Their eyesight became unfocused and didn’t refocus again until they were in the Elder Hall. The Elder of Mind was on his deathbed, he asked for Luhan to give him privacy with the other Elders. Luhan respected his father’s wish and left the room. The Elder of Wind helped him sit up. All the Elders knew he had something to share with them.

“Those children, they will come back to haunt Exoplanet. The Red Force is planning to use them against the Guardians. I can’t see how, but I can see when. The last of us will be Daesoo, Jun, and Shen. They will attack on your final night. Jongin’s apprentice will be the most dangerous.” The Elder of Mind rasped out.

The other Elder looked at each other with concern when the Elder of Mind started coughing intensely, deciding to allow Luhan back into the room so he can be with his father is his final moments. Leaving the room, they all looked at each other; none of them knowing what they should do with this information. While Luhan and his father had their final family moments, they waited for the Elder of Water to tell them what to do.

“No one will speak a word of what we heard tonight. We are not supposed to help the Guardians with their future, they must mold their own future without us. This is no longer our responsibility.” The Elder of Water spoke instantly.

She felt horrible for demanding the Elders to keep this a secret, but if they were meant to know Luhan would have seen it already. Although it had been so long since they had followed her orders, they knew better than to go against her. The Elders of Time, Travel, and Dragon all looked at each other. They would warn their sons when the time was near.

        The world shifted around them again, years later Jongin’s “first” apprentice got sick. A few months later he passed away. Jongin felt sick, the child passed away because he was never meant to be an apprentice. The boy was never meant to be period. Jongin’s real apprentice was taken on that day, as was Yifan’s and Zitao’s. The reason they never got an apprentice, and why Jongin’s “first” died, was because they already had apprentices out there. Without them knowing, their apprentices were living under the reign of the Red Force. Jongin felt sick, his little girl was living with murderers.

Their world turned black again, a red glow above them made them realize they were back on Planet 005. In front of them was a little girl, dressed in a pure white dress. She wore a necklace around her neck, the pendant on it said 88. That was Jongin’s number when they were caught by the Red Force on Earth. This was his little girl.

“Experiment Zero-Eight-Eight, it is time for your assignment to begin.” Twilight’s awful laugh shot out of the speakers in her room.

“My name is Jisoo.” The small girl growled and threw the small bear she was holding at the speaker in front of her.

They followed Jisoo down the hallway of his hellish facility. She walked into a room that had two other girls. The oldest out of the three nodded at Jisoo when she walked in. They all looked to be around eight and nine.

“Minah, Suya.” Jisoo acknowledged her two friends.

Minah and Suya also had on white dresses and on their necks, they wore their numbers. Minah had the adornment addressed as Zero-One-Seven and Suya wore the adornment addressed as Zero-Five-Nine. These girls were their apprentices.

“It’s time for the experiment to begin.” Twilight’s voice was like an awful screeching sound that caused the Guardians to cover their ears.

The world around them changed again, but this time they were back home. Their mentors stood above them, they were all on the floor. Jongin looked at his father appalled. He couldn’t believe his father would keep something like this from him. Before the Elder could explain himself, Jongin was gone.

He went home to his sector. His portwatch was violently shaking against his wrist, he grabbed it and threw it as far away from him as he could. Walking to the room he made for his “first” apprentice he curled up on the floor. He had an apprentice; his little girl was in the cruel hands of Twilight Woods. That woman was insane, who knows what she was currently doing to Jisoo, Minah, and Suya. He couldn’t believe someone he trusted would do this to him, he felt so betrayed. Jongin sat on the floor for a long time. It just didn’t make any sense to him. A vibration snapped him out of his daze. His portwatch burned his eyes when he looked down at it. There is a call from the Guardian Hall.

Quickly standing up, he grabbed his portwatch and reappeared at the Guardian Hall. Luhan and Junmyeon were discussing something quietly. Jongdae was trying to calm Soojin and LuYin down by the apprentice door. Junmyeon looked over at the door and acknowledged him. As he walked into the Guardian Hall, he noticed some of his brothers weren’t present. Luhan, Junmyeon, Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Minseok were there.

“Jongin, now that you are here we can begin,” Junmyeon said quickly.

“W-What? Start the meeting? We’re not all here yet.” Jongin was appalled that Junmyeon of all people would try to start a meeting without all of the Guardians.

“This isn’t a Guardian Meeting, this a meeting just between us. The others are trying to fix their sector. Each of us will be assigned a sector to go and help out when this is over.” Luhan explained swiftly.

“Fixing their sectors?” Jongin shook his head, still not fully understanding.

Luhan reached out to Jongin’s hand to hold it tightly. Jongdae and Chanyeol had finally gotten through to Seyeon and Soojin. They were both calmly going into the apprentice room with their Guardian Angels. Xiumin moved over to Jongin’s other side and held his other hand gently. Junmyeon waited for Jongdae and Chanyeol to join them before starting this little unofficial meeting.

“Thirty-five minutes ago, there was a chain of attacks in Aeria, Auris, Interis, Oria, Sonis, and Vitae. Yixing and Ru have had their hands tied. A lot of citizens were hurt in these attacks. It’s time that we work hard with our apprentices. The Red Force is becoming more present in our society.” Junmyeon said honestly.

The others were shocked, Jongin felt Minseok and Luhan grip his hand a little tighter as Junmyeon told them all about the damage that has been done to the other Sectors. The meeting wasn’t very long. Jongin raised his hand while Junmyeon was still talking.

“Yes, Jongin?” Junmyeon stopped when his younger brother raised his hand.

“C-Can I go help in Oria?” Jongin asked hopefully.

Jongin was worried about Kyungsoo and Hyunri. Out of all his brothers, he was closer to Kyungsoo and Sehun. The three of them all tried with their mentors around the same time when they were little. Junmyeon granted his request. As soon as they were assigned sectors they all quickly disappeared. Luhan went to Aeria, Chanyeol to Auris. Junmyeon arrived in Sonis, Jongdae in Vitae, and Minseok went to Interis.

Jongin arrived in Oria and was immediately horrified by the destruction around him. Some of the tall buildings were stuck down to rubble. The atmosphere that once held happiness and strength now held fear and sadness. It was suffocating him. In the distance, Jongin could see Kyungsoo and Hyunri putting a couple of the buildings back up.

Jongin ported behind Kyungsoo and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. That turned out to be a bad decision. Kyungsoo grabbed Hyunri and placed her behind him. He then turned around quickly and used his element around Jongin. Around him, the world started to disappear. He was being encased by his older brother in an earthly tomb.

Jongin could slightly hear Hyunri trying to get through to her father that it was Jongin in the tomb. She must have gotten through pretty quickly, suddenly his was outside laying on the ground. Kyungsoo must have locked him uptight, he felt like he was out of oxygen. He noticed two figures above him, a worried Hyunri and a terrified Kyungsoo stared back at him.

“Jongin, I’m sorry! Are you alright?” Kyungsoo asked quickly.

“Yeah, I’m okay, it’s okay Kyungsoo,” Jongin answered with a small smile.

Kyungsoo helped Jongin stand up, looking around again he noticed there were Red Force symbols everywhere. Haunting scarlet tags marking the real return of the Red Force. They couldn’t ignore it anymore. Exoplanet was going to war. For the safety of their apprentices and of their citizens, they needed to win this war. Jongin knew he needed to get his apprentice back on their side, he needed to see her safe in his arms. To apologize for not being the father she deserved. Coming out of his own head, he started to help Kyungsoo and Hyunri with anything they might need. As he helped them, his thoughts kept going back to his apprentice.

After long hours of working nonstop, the sectors were rebuilt. Kyungsoo, Hyunri, Luhan, and Luyin were all exhausted. The four of them did most of the heavy lifting. Jongin was really impressed with how well Hyunri and Luyin handled everything. They were both so young but had the strength of their fathers within them. They were in the last sector that needed to be repainted, Vitae. Jongin noticed Yifan and Zitao were off to the side, talking to each other away from everyone else. He must have stared for too long, suddenly Zitao waved him over to them. Jogging on over, Yifan gave him a tired smile.

“They were here Jongin, our apprentices,” Yifan said tiredly.

Yifan covered his face with his hands and sighed. All three girls were here. The Red Force wanted Yifan to see them. In a storm of striking white uniforms, there were three girls dressed from head to toe in scarlet. Contrasting from the other uniforms, it wasn’t hard to spot them. Zitao hugged Yifan and pulled in Jongin as well. Yifan shivered at the memory of the girls. Their eyes were so vacant, but they were all so furious at the same time. Yifan knew which one was Minah as soon as he laid eyes on her.

_Yifan just returned from the meeting with Jongin and Zitao. He was devastated, he has an apprentice out there. Sighing he sat down on his couch, today was one of the longest days he has ever had. Yifan closed his eyes, wanting to take a small nap before he went to go do his land security rounds within all the sectors. A brash explosion made Yifan open his eyes rapidly, he looked around and noticed it was starting to get dark outside._

_There was a strange glow coming from his front window. It was a hue of red, orange, and yellow. Yifan quickly stood from his place and ran outside. There was an army of people dressed in white. They entered in from the skies of Sonis like a plague. Yifan winced when another shot of fire rained down on his citizens and his home. Running toward this source of terror, he jumped off the cliff that his home sat on._

_He never got used to the feeling of himself morphing into the Dragon. Yifan’s back arched with burning agony as his wings ripped apart his skin. They haven’t sprouted in years. Yifan closed his eyes tightly and let an ear-splitting screech as the final parts of the transformation began. Yifan opened his now green eyes, seeing the world through reptilian eyes. He detected his targets easily._

_Yifan started to aim his raising flame at the enemies in white. Suddenly, a smaller black dragon popped into his vision. Her eyes were green just like his. She was a small black dragon with red tipped wings and a red tipped tail. She is a carbon copy of himself. Looking over at the army of white, he saw in front of them were two girls. Both had red eyes and black hair, their dressed seemed to bleed on their own without any wounds grazing their skin. The small dragon rushed at Yifan, catching him off guard. Pushing him to the ground, Yifan couldn’t stop the two of them._

Yifan shook the memory away and looked at Jongin with a small smile. Besides the different hair and eye colors. Their little girls looked a lot like them. Jongin looked at Zitao, who was smiling at the thought of his apprentice existing. In unison, Yifan, Zitao, and Jongin all looked down. Their pendants were glowing.


	7. What Is The Definition of Kindness? (M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is some strong language in this chapter, violence, mentions of death and kidnapping. Please do NOT READ if you are uncomfortable with any of that.  
> Thank you! Please enjoy the chapter~

VII.

Yixing

 

**_Does everyone deserve kindness, or does everyone deserve punishment for the suffering they have caused?_ **

 

The destruction that was caused in such a small-time period amazed Yixing. So many civilians were injured. Thankfully he has Ru to help him. While he handled major injuries, Ru handled the small cuts and bruises. It took a couple of grueling hours to rebuild everything, and a few more to heal the citizens of exoplanet.

By the end of it, Ru fell asleep against him. Yixing felt a little guilty, he asked Junmyeon to control the water in her blood a little bit just to make her fall asleep a little quicker. This was the biggest test for a healer and their apprentice, thankfully there were no casualties today. Holding Ru against him, he realized something. It seemed like yesterday that Ru came into his life and now he could see the end of his time.

Yixing had no doubt that Ru was going to a wonderful Guardian. She is everything he stands for. Ru was compassionate, loving, but she knows when to be serious. Yixing could feel himself growing older every day. She worked hard today, he is extremely proud of her. Looking around, all of his brothers and nieces are still standing, their sectors are still standing.

The Red Force did not win this battle, nor will they win this war. Walking gently over to his brothers, he noticed all of the girls were asleep. Looking to the side, he saw his Guardian Angel gently reaching toward Ru, all of the Guardian Angels were going to take the girls a few paces away, so the Guardians could talk without disturbing them. Placing his little girl in her arms, he watched how far they were going. He didn’t want her out of his sight.

“War has come,” Junmyeon spoke with urgency.

Yixing felt as though something was off. Yifan, Zitao, and Jongin are slowly making their way to the others. Their pendants are glowing radiantly. Before they could say anything, a bright light blinded them only to reveal the remaining Elders. The Elders of Travel, Time, and Mystic Balance looked down upon them all.

“Greetings, Guardians of Exoplanet. We have come with a message for you all.” The Elders said in unison.

“Guardians of Dragon, Travel, and Time, please step forward.” The three Elders all have a slight frown on their faces. Stepping forward, Yifan, Jongin, and Zitao stepped forward nervously.

“We owe you three an apology from all twelve Elders. Today, Yifan, you faced someone you didn’t even know existed. Her name is Wu Minah, she is your destined apprentice. She turned thirteen this year. Why am I telling you this you might be asking yourself.” Pausing to look at the Guardian the Dragon Elder continued.

“Thirteen years ago, while you twelve were out on a mission, the first three apprentices were born. While you were gone we were attacked. We were unable to defend against the technology of the Red Force. When we awoke, the three children were gone. Out of a panic, The Elder of Water and The Elder of Mind rushed to the Tree of Life to ask for help. Luhan, we require your assistance.” The Dragon Elder looked at the Guardian of Mind and nodded to the younger man, he knew what to do.

Using his abilities, Luhan closed his eyes and made his way through the Elder minds in front of him. Fighting through a lot of different walls and decoy memories, that no doubt was put up to keep their secrets hidden, he found the day when they left their home unprotected. Holding on to the memory, he stretched his power to his fellow Guardians allowing them to see what he sees.

 

Awaking with dread in his heart, the Elder of Life looked around. Why did he feel like this? What happened while he was asleep? Before he could figure out the answers himself, his door busted open revealing his dear friend in a panic. He couldn’t hear anything she was saying. It was a few minutes before he could understand her words.

“Are you alright?” The Elder of Water asked quickly.

“I am, what happened?” He asked carefully.

“We were attacked by the Red Force. They took the apprentices.” Sookjin held nothing but sorrow in her eyes.

“T-This has only happened one other time in history, what are we going to do?” He asked angrily.

“There is one thing, but I need to hear all opinions before I decided anything.” Sookjin shook her head slightly.

“You will always be our leader Jinnie, we’ll always follow you.” He knew about her insecurities.

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Sookjin sighed sadly, that’s what she was afraid of.

The Elder of Water held out her hand for him to hold. None of the Elders liked the new porting devices, it gave them all headaches. Using the Portwatch his son gave him, Sookjin wanted the two of them to meet the others at the Elder Hall. As they arrived, he looked around and saw all of their friends. The devastation in their eyes hurt him. His friends are falling apart around him, it breaks him a little on the inside, after all, he can’t heal a broken heart.

“I wish we were meeting under better situations.” The Elder of Water made her presence known.

The other Elders looked at the two new arrivals. None of them were happy, how could they be? The first three apprentices were taken away from them. They were too weak to defend the small girls. How are they going to tell the boys about this?

“I know what you are thinking, there is a way to hide this from the boys.” The Elder of Water said quickly, noticing their facial expressions.

“We don’t have to tell them, we can use the fate of exoplanet to find three families willing to give their children to the greater good.” The Elder of Water said carefully.

All around her the other Elders looked at her with shock. The tension in the room was thick, no one could breathe. This happened once before, the War of Water vs. Mind. The children who were taking in by the Elders were killed by the magic of the Tree of Life. It rejected the Guardian’s attempts to change fate.

It chose the apprentices it gave life to, not the ones the Guardian’s thought could fill the role. It felt insulting, the Tree has a plan and the Guardians are going to ruin it with their nonsense. The Tree gave life, it can also take it away, so it did. The Tree killed every child the Guardians chose. Realizing they were going to continue acting without thinking, instead of letting the children go to the Guardians, it made them find the kids.

Now the Elder of Water, their leader, wants to reenact the same decisions made all those years ago. To say they didn’t agree with her decision was an understatement. A lot of children were killed during that time, and now the Elder of Water wants to do it all over again.

“Your solution is to deceive everyone? The boys, the citizens, this won’t work.” The Elder of Light shook her head fiercely. Her blonde hair started glowing brightly, it only did that when she was furious. The Elder of Thunder immediately stood up to calm his friend down.

“I know how it sounds, it’s awful. What else can we do? We can’t tell the boys that we were outnumbered. They would feel horrible for doing their job.” The Elder of Water pushed her tears away, for the first time in a long time she didn’t know what to do.

The Elder of Mind stood up quickly. Sookjin was right, he knew the others would understand eventually. Looking around to his friends, he walked to stand beside his leader. The Elder of Water hoped silently to herself that the others would soon follow.

“She’s right, things will work out in the end. During my time with the old Guardians that was important to know. Even when we stood side by side to fight my original mentor, Sookjin’s father told me that everything will turn out alright. The fate of Exoplanet is not decided by our actions anymore, it is decided on the will of The Tree of Life. I will follow under Sookjin’s leadership. She wouldn’t suggest this if there was another way. If you are worried about Luhan, I can make it, so he is rejected from all your memories until the day I become part of the Tree once again.” The Elder of Mind said calmly.

Although Luhan is still younger, he is stronger than his mentor was. There is no doubt that he surpassed his mentor a while ago. The other Elders all still seemed unsure. Children are going to die by their hands. No matter how much they hated this, they really didn’t have much of a choice. One by one they all stood around Sookjin and kneeled in front of her. A sign of respect to their leader and her difficult decision. Three years had passed, the boys didn’t expect anything, little LuYin was born, and the Elder of Mind left this world with a smile on his face.

Yixing blinked away his tears as the memories passed. They could feel every emotion the Elders felt. Their hearts felt like they were being ripped from their chests. Looking over to Zitao, Yifan, and Jongin, he wished he could take all the pain away. Zitao and Yifan were frozen, Jongin’s eyes were blazing with fury.

“Why did you hide this.” Jongin was looking toward the ground.

“Jongin, I know what you are thinking, there was nothing you could have done.” The Elder of Travel said carefully.

“I could have saved them! I could have chased after them! The Red Force couldn’t have gotten far!” Jongin was looking straight into his mentor’s eyes as he screamed. The words of anguish cut through the Elder like a butcher knife. They have never heard Jongin use this much anger in his words, especially against his father.

“Jongin you were not ready to go after them; the Red Force would have killed them before you could even arrive.” The Elder of Travel was not going to allow his son to see how hurt he was.

Yixing knew something was wrong when Luhan tensed next to him. Jongin was acting like the man in front of him was his nemesis not his father. Jongin’s eyes were turning colors, they were turning scarlet red as he continued to yell at his mentor. The Elder of Travel was used to his eruptions, he raised him. He also knew the truth behind Jongin and his abilities, it was the same burden he carried around for years. Yixing watched as Jongin’s eyes changed from the warm chocolate brown they all knew to a cold, dangerous scarlet color. His pendant started to shimmer with a scarlet glimmer.

“Jongin, you need to calm down. This behavior is unacceptable for a Guardian.” The Elder of Travel allowed his authority into his demanding tone. The Elder deserved respect and right now Jongin was becoming dangerous for all of the other Guardians.

Jongin wasn’t listening to the Elder of Travel anymore. Jongin turned slowly to Luhan. Jongin wasn’t looking at him just yet, he was thinking about every flinch Luhan made in his direction through the years. Luhan knew, he knew everything. Jongin’s scarlet red eyes slowly looked into Luhan’s gentle gaze. Luhan wanted to flinch away from the cutting scarlet stare.

“Did you know?” Jongin asked quietly.

“Jongin, whether or not I knew is not important-” Luhan tried calmly switching the topic.

“Did. You. Know.” Jongin said softly. The softer his voice got the tenser Luhan appeared.

Luhan knew that the Guardian of Travel was one of the most dangerous Guardians in this world. Before his mentor passed away, he asked Luhan to go through his memories, knowing that his son could now handle the truth. Seeing those infamous scarlet eyes, Luhan had to calm Jongin down. Although he hated keeping this secret away from his young brother, he knew it was necessary.

“So, you knew.” Jongin took his older brothers’ silence as an affirmative answer.

Before anyone could react, there was a flash of black light, leaving Luhan defenseless. Luhan was on the ground in a flash, he held on to his Guardian adornment making sure Jongin couldn’t get his hands on it. He didn’t want to hurt Jongin, so he allowed Jongin to punch him with all his fury. Luhan couldn’t feel it, they couldn’t be injured when they had the blessing of their powers around them. The others ripped Jongin from Luhan. Nothing scared Luhan more than the murderous intent pulsating from Jongin’s gaze. There was no doubt in Luhan’s mind that if he didn’t have his Guardian adornment, he would be dead.

“What happened to being family? I’ll fucking kill you, Luhan!” Jongin screamed as loud as he could.

He could feel his throat bleeding from how loud he yelled. As he was dragged away by Chanyeol and Yifan, Jongin spits in front of Luhan signifying the most disrespectful action toward the elder. Luhan felt his heart snap, on Exoplanet spitting in front of an older family member was a way of signifying banishment from the family. Jongin just announced in front of the remaining elders and all of their brothers that Luhan was no longer apart of the family to him. In Jongin’s eyes, Luhan was the enemy. Luhan could barely feel Sehun and Kyungsoo next to him.

His whole world crashed around him faster than a blink of an eye. Yixing sat next to Luhan and sighed softly. Placing his hand gently on the back of Luhan’s neck and started to drain some energy carefully. He could feel Luhan’s distress through the horribly dense atmosphere. Knowing he would need help to calm Luhan down, if he kept draining Luhan’s life energy like this it would hurt his older brother.

Looking over to Junmyeon, one gaze was all it took. Junmyeon placed his hand where Yixing once was and gently used his ability to control the water in Luhan’s blood. Luhan slowly fell asleep in the arms of his brothers. When Luhan was out, Yixing took a look around the room. The remaining Elders looked at the Guardians sadly. As mad at them as Yixing was, he couldn’t blame them. They did what they thought was best.

“Y-Yixing?” A small voice broke through his thoughts.

Sehun, who was gently holding Luhan against his chest, was calling out to him. Jongin’s actions today hurt all of them. They were lucky the girls were in the other room with the Guardian Angels. Yixing smiled softly at Sehun, this atmosphere was too thick for his liking.

“Yes, Sehun.” Yixing lifted his hand and gently pushed Sehun’s bangs out of his face.

“Jongin didn’t mean it, right?” Sehun asked softly.

“Of course, he didn’t. You know how hard this has been on Jongin, it was just a big shock to his system. Everything will be okay. Luhan might be hurt right now, but he won’t let this get him down for too long. Luhan is not our enemy, he is still apart of our family. Jongin acted harshly but given the situation, I can almost understand. He’s upset, his goal was to hurt Luhan the way he was hurting. Everything will be okay.” Yixing smiled softly at Sehun.

Knowing that Luhan wouldn’t want LuYin to see him like this, Yixing stood up with Sehun. With Luhan safely secured on Sehun’s back, Yixing turned his Portwatch to Fernis and held Sehun’s hand gently. As they arrived, Sehun placed Luhan down carefully in his bed. Yixing walked into LuYin’s room quickly and gathered some clothes for her, Junmyeon decided before they left that she would stay with him and Minyoung until Luhan wakes up. While he picked out a couple of outfits, he noticed a small deer plush on her bed. He picked up the small toy and smiled. She never did get the pet deer Jongin was going to get her, Jongin never really had the chance before the Red Force made their presence known.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Junmyeon gave him a small smile. Sehun must still be with Luhan. Junmyeon noticed the small deer plush in his hands and chuckled softly.

“Looks just like her father,” Junmyeon said happily.

Yixing laughed at the awful attempt at a joke. Junmyeon has never been the funniest guy, but he tries. Handing over the small bag of clothes he picked out and the small deer plush over to Junmyeon, he shook his head slightly.

“Keep trying, Junmyeon, one day there will be the king of all jokes in there.” Yixing patted Junmyeon on the back.

When Junmyeon left, Yixing walked into Luhan’s room. Sehun had fallen asleep in the chair next to Luhan’s bed. Shaking his head, Yixing walked over and carefully picked Sehun up. Moving Luhan aside slightly, he placed Sehun gently on the bed and walked toward the exit of the room. Before leaving he turned around and looked at his brothers. Yixing smiled, turned off the lights and quietly closed the door. Walking out into the living room, Yixing sat down with a sigh. What a day this had turned out to be. Slowly he fell asleep in the living room.

 

Yixing slowly woke up to the sound of arguing. Looking around he noticed he wasn’t in the living room but in Luhan’s bed. Sitting up, he frowned as he remembered the previous events. A small explosion jolted him out of his thoughts. Hopping out of bed, he ran into the kitchen and froze at what he saw. It took everything for Yixing to not bust out laughing. On the floor of the kitchen sat Luhan and Sehun both looking at the X-wave in front of them. It was smoking like crazy and both culprits looked like a cartoon character that just exploded.

“What in the world did you two do,” Yixing asked carefully.

“We were arguing in the kitchen…” Sehun looked down disappointedly.

“I wish I could say something uplifting, but I’m not really sure what to say…” Yixing shook his head and smiled.

Luhan wanted to say something to Yixing, but before he could there was a knock on the front door. Luhan looked at Yixing and Sehun confusedly. Sehun didn’t mention anyone else would be coming over. Judging by their expressions, they weren’t expecting anyone either. Luhan slowly got up and wiped his face off making sure nothing was on it.

Walking quickly to the door, he was able to eliminate some of the people that could be behind that door knowing they wouldn’t be here without letting him know first. Slowly opening the door, he saw the last person he would have thought of. Jongin stood outside the door. It was currently raining in Fernis, but Luhan couldn’t tell if the wet streams on his face were from the weather or from tears. Jongin slowly looked up, the answer was, tears.

Luhan looked at the young man in front of him. Jongin was soaked. His hair almost covered his eyes with how heavy the rain was, and he was shivering like a newborn baby deer. Before Luhan could say anything, Jongin slowly got on his knees. He placed his hand in front of him and gently bent so his head was on the back of his hands.

This is the highest sign of respect in Exoplanet, this action is only used when a person severely wrongs one of their elders. Luhan could feel tears in his eyes. In the past when Guardians didn’t protect this world, this was the last apology someone could give before they were sentenced to death. When the Guardians took over they realized this was too barbaric to make their citizens continue this practice. Luhan dropped to his knees in front of Jongin and gently lifted his head up. Using his hands, Luhan gently wiped away Jongin’s tears away and smiled softly.

“Nothing I can ever say could portray how sorry I am,” Jongin said quietly.

“Jongin, you are hurting, I understand why you acted the way you did.” Luhan tried to calm his younger brother down.

“No, w-what I did was unacceptable.” Jongin shook his head and tried to position himself back in the bow.

Luhan sadly watched as Jongin shivered, it was pathetic. Although he didn’t want to, he knew how to make Jongin listen to him. On Exoplanet, the families revolved around the elders, everybody listened to them. Jongin was trying to show Luhan how sorry he was, although it was unnecessary. Standing up, he knew what he had to do.

“Kim Jongin stand up. Now.” Luhan allowed his authority to slip into his tone.

Jongin knew better than to disobey his older brother, especially right now. Standing up quickly, he still wouldn’t raise his head. He felt a hand rest on his cheek gently. Look up, he saw Luhan smile softly. Luhan looked into his younger brother’s eyes and felt relief consume him. The horrifying scarlet glow was nowhere to be found.

“It’s okay. I’m not upset with you, I’m upset that I held on to that knowledge for so long.” Luhan smiled sadly at Jongin.

Luhan pulled Jongin from outside. Sehun hands a towel in hand ready for Jongin. Sehun smiled as he walked up to Jongin and wrapped it around him. Sehun then disappeared and broke into Jongin’s house to get him some dry clothes and popped back in record time.

Yixing smiled at his brothers, shaking his head he went into the mess of a kitchen. Cleaning up quickly, Yixing started on making breakfast for the four of them. Deciding on something simple, breakfast was done faster than Jongin drying. Thankfully, Luhan had enough groceries for plenty of Chocolate Honey Suncakes. It’s been a while since he made Suncake, Ru had an allergic reaction to the honey.

Yixing called out to them all and placed the food down on the table. Hearing his three brothers chatting and laughing together made him smile. Watching the three of them laugh and tease each other reminded him of when they were young. Both of the younger kids were making fun of Luhan’s height, while Luhan defended himself from them.

“Oh, my goodness, I see Suncakes.” Sehun left the other two in the dust as he rushed to the table.

“Yixing, you didn’t have to. It looks absolutely beautiful.” Luhan hugged Yixing tightly.

“It’s been a while since I made these. Little Ru is allergic to honey.” Yixing hugged his older brother tightly and sighed.

All of them sat down and began to eat the perfectly made suncakes. Jongin suddenly gasped and sat up. He popped out of the house. Within a couple of minutes, Jongin returned and smiled. He looked a little embarrassed.

“Sorry, I left so fast. I almost forgot something that should have made it to this house a long time ago.” Jongin smiled at Luhan.

No one noticed the small figure behind Jongin. Walking away from the small figure, Luhan gasped softly. Behind Jongin stood a beautiful fawn. The one birthday present LuYin actually wanted but never got due to the Red Force appearing. Luhan stood up and gently walked toward his younger brother and the fawn. He gently held out his hand, so the fawn could see that he meant no harm. The little fawn licked his palm and Luhan pet the small creature gently. Luhan hugged Jongin tightly and kissed his forehead happily. Jongin whines about the sudden assault on his forehead and smiled at Luhan.

“I also brought her little bed along, should I put it in the LuYin’s room?” Jongin tilted his head slightly.

“Please, that would be great.” Luhan smiled at Jongin and looked at the little fawn.

Jongin nodded and gently moved the fawn toward the other direction. Luhan sat down in his spot again. The boys waited for Jongin to return before eating once again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think, leave a comment or message me whatever you want to say about this story!!


	8. A Frozen Heart Never Beats (M)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This was not beta read. Also rated for violence in this chapter

VIII.

Minseok

 

**_Legend has it the Ice King was never happy, until one day his heart thawed and started beating again, he felt alive._ **

****

_Minseok loved his Guardian brothers, he just didn’t know how to show it. His mentor taught him how to lock his heart away, being the Frost Guardian meant there was no room for error. No time for mistakes, he had to be perfect. Perfectly cold toward everyone. He didn’t hate his mentor, he knew she meant well. Sometimes he wished she was more of a mother figure than a colder older sister figure._

_She protected him with the only actions she knew. As he grew older, he realized he was going to be the oldest out of the next batch of Guardians. He was tough on the younger kids, demanding they try to be more like him. They tried making him show them more emotion, but nothing truly worked. Years had passed, his symbol glowed brightly one night, then shut off quickly. Like it was battery operated and died in only a few seconds. Deciding this was strange, he messed around with his Portwatch and appeared in the Elder Hall. His mentor was already waiting for him in the main hall._

_“Greetings Minseok, what brings you here at this hour?” Her cold voice sent shivers down his spine._

_“My pendant started to glow.” He answered back just as coldly._

_The Elder of Frost turned to face him, her eyes still reminded Minseok of the first time they met. Making him feel as if he had frostbite on his hands, in his heart. Her icy blue eyes never changed, they contrasted lightly against her dark obsidian hair._

_“I see, I suppose I should have seen this coming.” The Elder of Frost sighed._

_“Is there a problem, what’s going on?” Minseok asked quickly._

_“One question at a time young one. There is a problem here in Elder Hall. There were two potential apprentices in training for you, the older one passed away and the younger girl is missing.” She shrugged her shoulders._

_Minseok thought it was a little strange that she didn’t really seem to care. It made sense to him though, he wasn’t upset about the death of the older child. It was unfortunate that such a young life was taken away, but he didn’t know how to feel other than disappointed. He did have questions about the other apprentice in training._

_“How did she get away from the Elders, do you know where she could have gone?” Minseok asked curiously._

_“She wanted to look for you, lots of Elders here tell stories about you and the other Guardians. She was curious about you.” The Elder of Frost smiled slightly._

_“She decided she was ready to leave the Elder Hall, and I have to say I agree.” The Elder of Frost walked toward the main door leading out of the main Hall._

_Minseok bowed slightly to his mentor, knowing she has said all she feels she needed to. His Portwatch vibrated against his wrist, something was happening in Flayke. Quickly turning to his Sector, Minseok looked around as the white noise began to fade. Looking around, the light blue streets glittered like freshly fallen snow under the sun. Time seemed to go quicker when talking to his mentor, that’s just the effect she has on people._

_His house overlooked his sector on a large snowy hill, it was easy to spot the dangerous ice storm settled in the middle of Flayke. After a few minutes of running through his sector, he made it to the eye of the storm. A small girl on her knees in the middle of this hazardous icy hurricane. His pendant began to glow brightly. Slowly walking to the child, he noticed her own little pendant was also glowing. She was his apprentice, she found their home and was now calling out to him._

_Standing up after noticing her own adornment began to shine, she turned around slowly and saw Minseok. Small icicle-like tears fell to the ground and shattered. She ran to Minseok, who fell to his knees ready to catch her and hold her close. Slowly, but surely, the storm began to settle. The citizens of Flayke came out of hiding to look upon this heartwarming scene before them. Some buildings had to be repaired, chucks were taken out of some while others had mere scratches and chips. Breaking their hug, Minseok wiped away the remaining tears._

_“Now darling, it’s not okay to use your power in this way. This is dangerous for yourself and our citizens.” He scolded lightly._

_Nodding with understandment, she stood to face the citizens of Flayke and apologized to all of those she may have hurt. Thankfully the citizens seemed to hold no ill will to the young child. Turning back to Minseok, she was surprised to see him hold out his hand to her._

_“Let’s go home, Ice Princess.” He smiled as warmly as he could._

_Feeling her small hand grab his, something in his chest started pounding. A feeling he had never felt before was making itself known. That day his heart started to thaw and began beating once again. Although he didn’t know this little girl for very long, he knew she had him wrapped around her little finger._

 

     Minseok stood in the doorway of Sungbin’s room. It wasn’t long ago that the Guardians had worked together to rebuild their beloved home. After everything Minseok had immediately went to Sungbin and took her home. He held her all night long, afraid she would disappear from his sight. She fell asleep in his arms, feeling safe with her father near.

     He gently placed her in her bed and sat in the light blue rocking chair on the far side of the room. Minseok watched over her while she slept peacefully. Making sure no monsters would dare disturb her slumber. When the sun began to rise, he stood up and gave her a glance. Minseok needed to make her breakfast before she got sassy.

     Minseok made it to the kitchen. He seemed to be in a sort of trance. Minseok was afraid for her future, now that the Red Force has returned. Now knowing that three of his nieces were in the torturous hands of them, it killed him. This threat is real, it’s here. The Red Force knows about the adornments that they all wear, how it protects them, how they are all connected to their pairs. It seemed like it was so long ago.

     The day an apprentice gets their pair is the day that their Guardian knows that the end of days is near. Finding your pair is one of the last things an apprentice can do before they eventually completely take over the Guardian mantle. Junmyeon and Minseok knew that they were going to be pairs long before it was official. The way the two of them could calm each other down was a dead giveaway. A pair is someone who can calm any sort of outburst, given that there is no other outside influence to the outburst.

     Their pair is the other half of their soul. The idea of pairs was introduced by the Tree of Life after the second Guardian war. When a pair is discovered the small apprentice, pendants intertwine with each other. They begin to glow for their pair. In Minseok’s experience, the two of them were messing around when it happened.

     Minseok froze the ground around them, making Jongdae slip and fall multiple times. While Junmyeon was making little water orbs and throwing them at Sehun who eventually started crying, this causes the “Apprentice War”. Sehun, Jongin, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Jongdae, and Baekhyun versus Zitao, Junmyeon, Yifan, Luhan, and Minseok. Yixing didn’t want any part of this. He was the healer for both sides, which made the battle so much harder. They couldn’t use the “go for the healer” tactic because they both had the same healer. While dodging an attack from Kyungsoo, Minseok fell over Junmyeon and their necklaces go caught on each other.

    They thought that it was just because of the fall, but then they started glowing the opposite color and they felt completely connected. They felt complete. This was another way that the Tree helped regulate the Guardian power. Now that both Junmyeon and Minseok are older, they would be lying if they said they didn’t hope Minyoung and Sungbin became pairs. It was only natural for the two of them to become pairs because of how close their elements actually are.

       This doesn’t mean that they will become pairs, however, a pair is decided on the soul of the apprentice. Certain souls work better than others. In a strange twist of fate, Soojin and Minyoung could become pairs if the stars aligned that way. The ground around him had frozen over due to him being lost in thought. The change in temperature didn’t bother him so he knew it wouldn’t bother Sungbin either. Knowing that the Red Force has returned, it’s time to kick training up a notch. He could only hope that Sungbin would understand.

     A few months have passed, the girls have training nonstop for almost four years. Around the beginning of the fourth year, it was kicked into overdrive due to the Red Force returning. The girls continue to progress faster than their fathers ever did. At this point, the Guardians are afraid that the apprentices will surpass them before their teenage years. Yifan, Zitao, and Jongin are all constantly watching the radar for Red Force attacks.

     Minseok smiled as he watched Sungbin make a little snowman. Although training had been pretty harsh, she was still Sungbin. The girls still haven’t found their pairs. Although this is a good thing, in the same way, it’s a horrible thing. The pairs allow a Guardian to use their power to their full potential without causing harm to their bodies. The physical form of a Guardian cannot withstand the full potential of Guardian power. The Guardians want the apprentices to find their pairs, but the second they do their time starts ticking rapidly.

     Since the attack a couple months ago, the Red Force has once again decided to lay low. Besides a couple of symbols popping up here and there throughout the sectors there hasn’t been a sighting since the attack itself. No word on Minah, Jisoo, and Suya, the three girls have been once again hidden away from Exoplanet.

     Minseok was currently making lunch for the two of them. Setting the food on the table, he called out to Sungbin. He had made Sungbin’s favorite: Two snowcakes and a side of glacier specks. As soon as she saw them, she screamed like a banshee and almost dove on to her chair. Minseok smiled softly, she was one of the only things in this world that could thaw his heart. As the two of them were eating, his portwatch started vibrating against the table. Looking down at it, he saw that it was a mixture of all the Guardian colors, mainly cobalt. It was time for a meeting.

     “Sungbin, go get dressed, we have to go see the others for a little bit.” Minseok smiled at her, he noticed she hadn’t quite finished. Picking up her lunch, he wrapped it in frostic foil and put in their cooler.

    Sungbin was done quicker than he was. She was excited to go see the others. Because of how much training they had to do in such a little time, the girls didn’t get to see each other very much. Grabbing her hand, he turned his portwatch to the Guardian Hall. As soon as she arrived, she jumped on top of Minyoung causing the two of them to fall over. Minseok looked away from the two fondly and nodded at Junmyeon. The Guardian Angels quickly shooed the girls into the apprentice hall. When the hall decided that they have all arrived, the meeting began.

     “All has been generally quiet in Rivule. I don’t know whether to be happy about that or concerned. We cannot allow this to make our citizens live in fear.” Junmyeon began.

     Minseok wasn’t really listening. He felt bad, but something was keeping his attention away from the meeting. He had a sickening feeling. He looked at the others and noticed he seemed to be the only one who was nervously tapping his foot.

     “Minseok.” Junmyeon’s voice cut through his thoughts. Looking up, he noticed that the others were staring at him.

     “I’m sorry, what was that?” Minseok asked quickly.

     “How is your sector?” Junmyeon asked again.

     “Everything has been mostly quiet. Some citizens are still too nervous to be outside for too long.” Minseok shrugged his shoulders slightly. It was pretty understandable considering his citizens heard about what happened to some of the other sectors.

     Junmyeon continued on to the next person. Minseok looked around again. He was still the only person that seemed to be nervous about something. The infuriating part was that he had no idea why he was feeling this way. Although something felt different in the room. Minseok looked around and notice that Luhan looked pretty out of it. Junmyeon started to continue the meeting quickly.

     Minseok started zoning out again, the ground began to shake underneath them. He glanced at Kyungsoo and raised an eyebrow. The others didn’t really seem to notice. The ground shook more. Minseok looked at Kyungsoo, who was also looking around with a concerned look.

     Kyungsoo stood up, despite that fact that Junmyeon is still talking. Something was definitely wrong. Kyungsoo turned toward the entrance to the Guardian Hall. The others stood up, noticing the urgency in the atmosphere and the constant shaking below them. There was a vast explosion across the hall, in the same place the apprentice hall was located.

     Immediately jumping out of their chairs, they threw open the Guardian door. The place where the apprentice hall door once was, there was now a massive hole. Four out of twelve Guardian Angels were knocked on unconscious. The boys ran quickly into the room, there were Red Force members attacking the Guardian Angels. There were too many for the Angels. The Guardians instantly joined in on the attack.

     “Appa!” A voice stopped Minseok in his tracks.

     He turned around quickly, Sungbin was being taken away by two of the red nurses. The nurses didn’t enjoy the way the small girl was fighting against them. They knocked her unconscious as they dragged her away. Minseok couldn’t hear anything around him. It felt like he was underwater.

     They were taking her away from him. He heard someone screaming, for all he knew it could have been him. Minseok ran as fast as he could, avoiding irrelevant threats knowing his brothers could take care of it. Nothing mattered more than his little girl being taken away from him. Using his abilities, he was attacking with all of his might, but it wasn’t enough.

     He was helpless as they took her away. He wasn’t fast enough. The other boys had tried attacking the Red Force themselves. They were too quick. As soon as they arrived, they were gone. Despite the ruined apprentice hall and the missing apprentices, it was almost as if they were never there.

     Minseok fell to his knees, nothing around him was going in slow motion. His throat felt like it was bleeding, he couldn’t hear his own screams. He couldn’t hear the others behind him screaming along with him. There were only two girls left after the destruction. Ru and Hyunri were both critically injured.

     Yixing was quickly attending to them both as quickly as he could. Minseok felt the whole world crash around him. He closed his eyes when he felt tears streaming from them. He felt the ice surround him like a cold coffin. Minseok felt something he didn’t think he would ever feel again. His heart froze over and stopped beating. He opened his eyes revealing ice cold eyes seemingly void of life. Minseok smirked cruelly as he realized Junmyeon was right. War has come.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter has arrived!


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